I've Been Afraid Of Changing
by ginasfs07
Summary: Brittany and Santana, starts in freshman year. Shows their relationship through high school, Santana's POV
1. Chapter 1

"Outta my way," I snarl, elbowing the gangly creature to my right who has stuck her frizzy head straight in front of the list we're all trying a get a look at. She'll definitely be on the list anyway, hell, she's probably the first name on it.

Now at the front of the crowd, I have a clear view of the list Coach Sylvester posted a few minutes ago. I scan through the names, praying I won't read my own. Not on the first page. Or the second. Ugh, this whole thing would be a hell of a lot faster if she would just post the names of the girls who made the squad, instead of the ones who _didn't_. It's like she just wants to make the failures feel worse, showing them that each one of them has been individually deemed inadequate by the great Sue Sylvester. Well if that's the case then she definitely lives up to her reputation as a ruthless bitch. I think we'd get on well.

I've read through all five pages now. All around me girls are bursting into tears and breaking down into hopelessly sobbing wrecks. For heaven's sake, and they thought they could handle being on the Cheerios? The training is meant to be brutal, and Coach Sylvester's wrath is legendary. I'm not crying though. I'm grinning, because my name isn't on that list. Which means I made it. I'm one of probably only about 6 or 7 girls to make the squad in freshman year. And _that_ means I'm set for high school. Everyone knows that as a cheerleader you're pretty much guaranteed popularity. Those red and white uniforms are a status symbol, without one you're just another nameless kid, blending into the crowd. The crowd which is gonna part for me out of pure fear every time I walk down the corridor.

I flash a smug smirk to the girl beside me whose lower lip is trembling as she stares at the list.

"There's always next year, sweetie," I say sweetly, while giving her a look that tells her she could never be a Cheerio if she lived to be a million. I fold my arms and walk away, laughing at all the girls falling over themselves to fill the space I had been standing in. Brittany appears at my elbow.

"Santana, did you make it? I made it. I totally knew I would though. I'm awesome." She smiles to herself.

"Of course I made it, Britt. This is me we're talking about. We're _both_ awesome. And we're gonna be two of the hottest bitches in this place for the next four years," I say, nudging her with my elbow and smirking at the thought. She nods, still smiling.

"Totally."

"We'd better get to Coach Sylvester's office. She'll be expecting her latest Cheerios and I don't think she'll want to be kept waiting."

With Brittany trailing behind me, I walk through the corridors quickly, fantasizing about the day that all these losers will be too scared to even look me in the eye. Soon, I think. I'm glad that Brittany made the team as well. We were friends in middle school, which means I'll already have an ally on the squad. When looking over that list I noticed quite a few of our friends' names. Or rather, I correct myself, our _old_ friends. We're Cheerleaders now, which means that everyone who isn't is automatically beneath us. We don't associate with them. Starting now.

I knock on the door once, and it's hurriedly opened by a brown haired girl I don't recognize. We step in and I inspect the other girls in the office. Including me and Brittany, there are only six of us. I notice a girl from our class the previous year, and I'm surprised because she was always a total geek. Well, she'll be moving up in the ranks now. There's the brunette who opened the door, and another tall black girl who sneers at us when we walk in. I roll my eyes in return and turn my attention towards the front of the room. A blonde girl stands in front of the desk with her hands on her hips and her chin held high as though she's out to prove that she's not scared of us. She's by far the prettiest out of the four of them, but in that angelic, church-girl kind of way. Sure enough, I notice a silver cross around her neck. She doesn't look like she has much edge. And behind that desk, stands Sue Sylvester herself, surveying us all through the glasses perched on her nose, as though inspecting for flaws. With a pang of excitement I notice some packages of red and white uniforms stacked behind her. I also notice there are only five sets.

"Excellent. Now that you're all here, let's begin." She paces with her hands behind her back, still looking over us. "You're here because out of the countless freaks and losers that attempted to join my glorious Cheerios, you were the least pathetic. Just because you're here now, that does _not_ mean you can get complacent. Earning a place on my squad is an honor that can be revoked at any moment." She stops and pauses. "And just to prove it," she points at the brunette, "you. Get out. You won't be joining the squad." The girl's eyes widen.

"W-what?"

"You heard me. I changed my mind; I don't like your attitude. And you're far too short to be a cheerleader anyway. Now get out of my sight." The girl looks like she can't quite believe this is happening. We all stare as she splutters out protests.

"You heard Coach Sylvester. Get out of here, now." It's the blonde girl, speaking coldly and glaring at the girl. The brunette finally bursts into tears and runs out the door, which Brittany hurriedly closes behind her. Coach Sylvester turns and stares down the blonde girl who spoke.

"Outstanding," she says, nodding slightly. The blonde smirks but doesn't say anything else. Maybe I misjudged her. She seems to know exactly what she's doing. Coach Sylvester continues speaking and returns to pacing. "I won't have any tolerance for weakness on my squad. Any crying, complaining or," she says the next word with disgust, "_disrespect_ – will be punished. Understood?" I look at my shoes, scared she'll suddenly decide to dismiss me too. There's a silence, then she repeats herself. "_Understood?_" We all nod quickly, nobody daring to speak. "Good." She says. She reaches behind her and picks up the uniforms. "First off, here are your uniforms. You will wear them to school every single day, _no exceptions_. If they don't fit, that's not my problem, it's yours. These uniforms will not be adjusted to fit you, _you_ will adjust yourselves to fit them. I don't need any fatties on my team. Secondly, hair must be worn up at all times, scraped back into the tightest, most uncomfortable ponytail you can manage. Thirdly, practice starts tomorrow at six a.m. sharp out on the playing fields. I trust none of you is _stupid_ enough to be late. And finally…" She pauses. "Sue Sylvester," she points to her chest, "is the most powerful, influential, and most importantly, _successful_ coach in the United States of America, with four consecutive _national_ titles. If any one of you idiots thinks you can't live up to my squad's reputation, I suggest you leave now. Because if you jeopardize my standing–I can do more than simply cut you from the team. I can make your life a _living hell. _Now get out of my office." We all scramble to leave, grabbing our uniforms on the way out.

Once out in the corridor I breathe a sigh of relief in the knowledge that I managed to survive my first encounter with the legendary Sue Sylvester and keep my new place on the Cheerios. She really is heartless. It'll be worth it though, I think to myself. The blonde girl wearing the cross necklace approaches us, and stands before me and Brittany, subtly looking us up and down once. She sticks out her hand, almost threateningly.

"Quinn Fabray. If we're going to be teammates for the next four years we should really get to know each other, don't you think?" She's wearing a sickeningly sweet smile which I can tell is fake. She's measuring us up, trying to determine if we'll last more than five minutes. I shake her hand, slowly.

"Santana Lopez. And this is Brittany." I say, signaling to the blonde to my right. She nods, shaking Brittany's hand too. "I haven't seen you around before."

"I transferred. From Fairbrook Middle School." she says coolly. "I'd better be going, but so nice to meet you." That sickening smile again. "I'll see you at practice." She walks away down the corridor and out of sight. Brittany turns to me.

"How awesome is this?" She says, squeezing the bag containing her new uniform.

"Totally" I reply, grinning. "C'mon, I can't wait to get this thing on."

Brittany lives nearer the high school than I do so we head to hers and run up to her room. I toss my bag into the corner and we rip open the plastic packaging over the red and white outfits, eager to see how they look. Inside are two red ruffled skirts and two sleeveless shirts emblazoned with WHMS. There's also a long sleeved white thermal and a jacket with the word "Cheerios" sewn into the back, presumably for wearing in winter.

"Oh my god. We're actually meant to wear these?" Brittany questions, holding up what looks like a pair of bright red underwear. I laugh.

"Yupp. Those are your _Spankies_. In case you hadn't noticed these skirts are pretty short, Brittany." I smirk. "They're pretty much designed so guys can perv on us."

"Oh. Awesome." She smiles.

Once I've pulled on my skirt and zipped up the top I turn my attention to my hair. I hardly ever wear it up, but I guess I'd better get used to it from now on. Brittany scrapes it back for me and ties it in a high ponytail, and then I do hers. When we're ready we stand in front of her full-length mirror admiring our reflections.

"We look hot." She says, nodding approvingly as she takes in our appearances.

"We really do," I agree. "Like real Cheerios." I'm relieved to find the clothes fit me just fine and I won't have to start starving myself. Brittany's fit her well too, although she's slightly more muscular and toned than me because she does dancing. I'm sure that'll change once Coach Sylvester starts working us as hard as she's rumored to work the rest of the squad.

"I can't believe she's making us train at six in the freakin' morning! That's like, a whole hour before I even get out of bed, usually." I groan. "I'm gonna have to wake up at like five a.m."

"Just get ready for school before you go to bed, then you wake up ready to go. That's what I do." she says, smiling like she's a genius. I roll my eyes. "But wait," she says, frowning, "I usually get a ride to school with Sarah and her mom. I don't think she'll want to go at six." Sarah is one of the girls we used to hang around with in middle school, who lives across the street from Brittany. She's one of our friends who didn't make the Cheerios.

"It doesn't matter anyway." I dismiss with a wave of my hand, angling my head to examine my ponytail. "We don't need to hang around with _her_, or any of those other losers anymore. You and I are Cheerios now, which means we're the top dogs in that school. We're popular girls. We'll make new, cooler friends on the squad." She ponders this for a moment.

"Right. Like that Quinn girl?" I grin, looking back at her.

"Right," I confirm. She returns my grin.

"Good. I mean, Sarah's become totally weird recently." She gives me a knowing look. "Did you see what she was wearing today? She looked like a fourth grader who had lost her mom." I laugh. I'm so glad we can finally ditch that lame group of girls. Brittany's the only one of them who doesn't make me want to punch something in frustration at this point. I reach down and link my pinky with hers.

"Yupp. It's just you and me now, Britt." I smile, admiring our reflections again, "High School is gonna be awesome." She smiles too.

"Totally."

* * *

><p>The shrill sound of my alarm pierces though my head, shaking me into consciousness. "Unghh" I mumble, reaching out to turn it off. As I do, the screen illuminates, telling me it's five a.m. Ugh, why did I join Cheerios again? I've had nowhere near enough sleep; I feel like death. My face falls back to my pillow.<p>

I feel myself drifting back to sleep when it screams at me again, telling me it's now five past. Okay, there is no way that five minutes just passed. I heave my body up and sit on the edge of my bed, rubbing my eyes, which feel as though they're coated in sand. It's still dark outside, and I can hear birds singing.

Hating Sue Sylvester, I stumble into my bathroom and into the shower. I remind myself that I need to go via Brittany's on the way into school. Because we have to go in so early and she can't get a ride, I told her I'd meet her and walk her in. When I asked her why she couldn't go herself she said she doesn't know the way and the last time she tried walking by herself she got lost and ended up back at her house.

I come out the bathroom and dress myself for school in the same clothes I tried on the day before. I admire my appearance as I put my make-up on, still impressed with the way the new outfit looks.

* * *

><p>At half past five I'm ringing Brittany's doorbell, standing on her doorstep. It occurs to me that maybe I should have texted instead so as not to wake her family. Oh well. Eventually she opens the door and steps out to join me. She's dressed in her Cheerio's outfit too, but her hair is a mess. It looks like she tried to tie it up herself then slept on it. Her eyes are barely open and her voice is weak as she greets me. "Hi, Santana." I smirk at her disheveled appearance.<p>

"Looking good, Britt."

"Thanks," she smiles, missing my sarcasm. "I'm super tired though."

"I can tell. Come here so I can sort your hair. It looks terrible." She obediently sits on her step and I kneel behind her, retying her ponytail so it looks neat. Once I'm finished I reach out my hand and pull her to her feet. "Now come on, we really don't wanna be late."

* * *

><p>"That," I say, dragging myself into the locker room, "was pure hell."<p>

"I think I'm gonna pass out." says Brittany, stopping beside me and pulling off her sweat drenched shirt.

"Well I don't know what you two expected," says Quinn as she enters behind us. "But being a Cheerio is no walk in the park. You'd better get used to training this hard if you want to stay on the team." She says this like she's not just as sweaty and exhausted as the rest of us.

"Believe me," I reply firmly, "I want to." Coach Sylvester has had us training non-stop for the past two hours, running, working out, and learning insane routines. I could barely keep up, and more than one girl broke down in tears during the practice. And tears were rewarded with laps.

After showering and changing into our spare cheerios uniforms, Quinn, Brittany and I leave the changing rooms and walk to our lockers. And it's at this point when the torture of this morning becomes worth it. People move out of our way as we stride down the middle of the corridor, Quinn leading the way with Brittany and me flanking her sides. Guys stare, checking us out, and I glare at the scrawny, geeky ones until they avert their eyes. I wink and smirk at a football player who's staring at my legs, exposed by the short skirt and he grins goofily back. I could get used to this.

I reach my locker, which is beside Brittany's. Some tiny girl with dark brown hair, a huge nose, and awful clothes is standing in front of it, blocking our access. I look her up and down, wondering how she could possibly have left the house this morning knowing she looked like that. She's standing on her toes, seemingly looking for someone in the crowd, apparently oblivious to Brittany and me, standing expectantly in front of her. She's got some nerve. Doesn't she see what we're wearing?

"Hey, dwarf. You're in our _way._" She finally looks around, catching on that we're looking at her. Took her long enough. "Now, _move please._" She appears disgruntled and huffs at us.

"Well there's no need to be so rude about it!" I narrow my eyes and cross my arms, taking a step closer to her.

"Look, _man hands_, I don't know just who you think you are, but my name is Santana Lopez, soon to be head bitch in charge in this place and you do _not_ wanna talk back to me – not unless you wanna spend the rest of the day in the nurse's office. Is that clear?" She doesn't reply, just looks between Brittany and me with mild shock on her face. "Now, I'm gonna ask you nicely one more time. Get out my freakin' way, before I _make _you." Beside me Brittany looks down on her with disdain, regarding her Argyll sweater vest and knee high socks.

"You dress like my Grandpa…but, like…sluttier." She concludes. The girl opens and closes her mouth seemingly lost for words, looking indignant. Eventually she seems to decide on something to say.

"Fine. But before I do I'd like to give you a word of advice, Santana." I narrow my eyes again at her use of my name. "You and you're little friend here may be convinced of your imminent rise to popularity here at McKinley, but I can tell you that your aggressive and hostile approach will get you nowhere. I, on the other hand, have come to this school ready to make friends not through intimidation and violence but through exuding a positive and friendly attitude to my fellow students. And let's just see which one of us ends up on top, shall we? I think you'll be surprised." And with that, she starts to storm away like a toddler in the huff. She doesn't get far though. Because what happens next is, I think, one of my favorite moments like, ever. Some guy with a Mohawk, dressed in a letterman jacket is walking past and as he draws level with the angry midget he casually tosses the slushy he's holding in his right hand – straight into her face. I feel my jaw drop open as the short girl gasps and squeals, stopping short in her tracks. There's a moment of silence as Brittany and I digest what just happened. Then as she brings her shaking hands to her face and scrapes the drink out of her eyes, as if unable to believe what just happened, a grin slowly spreads on my face. That was perfect. I start to laugh out loud, and soon Brittany joins me. People stare as they walk past, some of them laughing too.

"Actually, Hobbit, I'm not surprised at all." I snap at her back as she flees, presumably to the nearest bathroom. I turn to open my now accessible locker. "That," I say to Brittany, who's still giggling, "was priceless."

"Totally. And did she seriously call _me_ little? Like…has she looked in the mirror?" I laugh again.

"I know, right? That was one weird chick. C'mon, let's go to class. What do you have first period?"


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks go pretty much the same way. I stick with Quinn and Brittany and our status in the school is going up every day. Coach Sylvester trains us relentlessly out on the fields, and by the time the week is over we're ready to drop dead from exhaustion. However, I'm already in much better shape than I was at the start of the year and I'm finding it easier to keep up with the complicated routines we have to learn. It seems that Coach's main focus is cheerleading competitions, and she doesn't give a crap about cheering for the football team. It is, however, something we still need to do, and we have our first game coming up. A couple of days before it, at practice, Quinn manages to work up the nerve to ask Coach about it and she then springs it upon us that we will be performing one of our most difficult routines in front of the whole school at half time. Thank god Quinn asked. I've never cheered at a proper football game before. Brittany and I did some cheerleading in middle school but that was nothing compared to what Coach Sylvester has us doing now.

The night before the game, Brittany, Quinn and I are sitting in my room, reading some magazines and discussing the routine we need to have down by tomorrow evening.

"It'll be fine," Quinn says, turning a page. "Don't sweat it."

"Easy for you to say, Q," I retort. "You're not the one having to throw that hulking sophomore at the end." I'm fine with the routine apart from that final throw. Earlier in practice the sophomore girl, who is _really_ heavy messed up her landing and took me out on the way down, earning me extra laps. My shoulder's still aching. I don't know why Coach decided that _I_ should be the one to throw her, along with another freshman girl. I'm one of the smallest girls on the squad. Quinn snorts.

"Yeah. Good luck with that." She smirks. Quinn had the easiest part in the whole routine, basically just standing near the front and looking pretty.

"I'm not nervous. I'm gonna be awesome." Brittany says simply. Her arrogance aside, she's right. Coach is taking advantage of Brittany's skills in dancing to have her flipping and tumbling around throughout the routine, seemingly effortlessly. I don't think she's messed up once. I look back at my magazine unhappily, trying not to think about the performance as the conversation switches to the boys who will be playing tomorrow.

* * *

><p>We stand on the sidelines with the red and white pom-poms Coach gave us earlier as the football team runs out onto the field. We pump our arms up and down as we chant,"W – M – H – S," over and over. It's not the most imaginative routine but I guess we're saving the good stuff for the half time performance.<p>

The game begins, and as it progresses it becomes clear that our cheering is pretty fruitless. Our team is awful. The other team isn't much better, but by half time we're still losing 6 to nothing. I don't give a crap about football or the rules but even I can tell that we suck.

I throw my pom-poms down on the bench behind us and try not to think too much about the routine we're about to perform in front of everyone. Brittany must have noticed my anxiety because I feel her arm loop into mine as we walk.

"Don't be nervous, Santana. You'll be awesome," she reassures me. I mentally shake myself, feeling pathetic for being so worried. Santana Lopez doesn't get nerves. I grin at her sideways.

"Please. I'm not nervous. Don't you know who you're talking to? I'm gonna kick ass," I say, putting my best "tough bitch" face on.

"Cool," she replies smiling. She releases me and walks to the other side of the field and suddenly I don't feel so brave anymore. As the music starts I take a deep breath and just lose myself in the routine.

Everything is going perfectly and it's not until I see the sophomore giant loping towards me that I realize that damn throw is coming up. But behind her I can see Brittany and she's grinning at me from across the field. She gives me a tiny thumbs up. Screw it, I think. This'll be a piece of cake. The other girl and I hoist the sophomore into the air, and as she tumbles back down I can already sense that's it's going to be flawless. I make sure to keep my shoulder well out of harm's way as she lands gracefully between the two of us, on beat, as the music finishes up. It's perfect. She bounces up and we stand poised, beaming, in front of the cheering crowd, drinking in the applause.

The other Cheerios start to jog back into the changing rooms and I follow behind Quinn, feeling exhilarated. I can't stop grinning like a dork. As soon as I'm inside I feel Brittany jump on me from behind, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"We rocked!" She says happily into my ear. I smile widely and turn in her arms, throwing mine around her neck.

"Yeah, I know!" I say giddily, "It was totally cool." As she releases me I see Quinn smiling at us.

"Not bad, Santana. Told you not to sweat it." I pull a face.

"Shut it, Q," I say, grinning all the same. We start to head back out to the field to cheer for the rest of the game. We linger on the sidelines, drinking our water and chatting about the performance.

"Hey ladies," a voice rings out in our direction, "looking good out there." We turn to see Noah Puckerman striding towards us, his helmet under his arm. We've only interacted a few times before, but I have nothing but respect for him ever since he threw that slushy in the midget's face at the exact right moment. He stops in front of us, very obviously looking us up and down, licking his lips slightly. "Real good." I step forward with a smirk.

"Thanks. Wish we could say the same for you, but…" I glance meaningfully at the scoreboard. He cringes slightly, and then continues.

"Please, we got this. We're making a comeback second half." I smile.

"If you say so." I hear Brittany giggle behind me. This seems to spur him on.

"Well anyway, the reason Puck came to talk to you lovely ladies is to invite you to the after-game party. It's tradition. Y'know, first game of the year and all. One of my boys from the team is throwing it at his place – his parents are in the Bahamas…or something." He wiggles his eyebrows. "There'll be plenty of beer." Quinn smiles and rolls her eyes. Of course we're aware of the after-game party. It's all we've heard the older Cheerios talking about for the past week. It's invite only. However, being Cheerios, it's only natural that we'd be asked.

"Well maybe we'll see you there," Quinn says, feigning disinterest. "Maybe not."

I plaster on my flirtiest smile, saying, "Good luck out there. If you do win there'll be a lot more to celebrate…and we might just see you later." He grins and winks, jogging back to the changing rooms to get ready for the next half. Throughout the exchange Brittany has been wearing a coy smile but as soon as he walks away she drops it and looks blankly at me and Quinn.

"Wait so…we're going right? 'Cause I thought we really wanted to but it doesn't seem like you guys do anymore…" I roll my eyes.

"Of course we're going Britt. It's called playing "hard to get""

"Oh." She nods, but I can tell she still doesn't get it. "Totally."

The team starts to pour back onto the field again, and we stand to attention, starting up the chant. I don't know if it's Noah Puckerman's new found motive to win or our amazing cheering powers but they miraculously manage to score a touchdown in the second half. I glance at the scoreboard, seeing that the teams are now drawn. A small guy stands back, preparing to kick the ball through the posts at the end of the field. He looks terrified.

We cheer more enthusiastically than ever, spurring on the crowd with the marching band. He finally seems to grow the courage and runs towards the ball being held on the ground by another player. He doesn't strike it very well…it goes low and left, but manages to just fly through the posts. We jump up and down in excitement, chanting the team name again, as the crowd celebrates behind us.

Nothing particularly exciting happens for the rest of the game, and McKinley manages to remain one point ahead of the opposing team at the end of the half. Their coach, Ken Tanaka, is beside himself. Judging from that and the team's performance in the first half, this doesn't happen very often.

After the game, we manage to catch a ride with some older football players to the party. It's understood that we'll stay in our Cheerios uniforms, so we don't bother changing. Brittany sits in the front, flirting shamelessly with the driver while Quinn and I ride in the back with some other jock. I've never been to a real high school party before, and I can barely contain my excitement. As we pull up I can hear the music thudding out the open door and I see that quite a few others have arrived before us. We walk in through the front door behind the guys that drove us, who high five some of their friends as they enter. Noah Puckerman is already here and he saunters over to the three of us as we walk into the living room, with his gangly friend Finn Hudson by his side. Personally I don't see the attraction, but Quinn seems to have a soft spot for the dopey football player and she bats her eyelashes as he approaches. He looks over the moon.

"Hi, Finn. You were great out there tonight," she says coyly, looking up at him as he grins goofily.

"Uh, thanks." He manages to spit out. Puck rolls his eyes and puts his hands on me and Brittany's shoulders, guiding us away from the sickening pair.

"Let's leave them to it. I'm so glad you girls made it. Let's get you something to drink shall we?" He leads us to the kitchen where there is plenty of beer laid out on a table, but not much of anything else. He opens a can and hands it to me. I sip at it and make a face, remembering _just_ how much I hate the stuff. It's so bitter and seriously tastes like pee. Not that I know what that tastes like, but whatever.

"Ugh, isn't there anything else?" I complain, putting the can down on the counter. "Something actually alcoholic, maybe?" I say sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Um…there's some wine coolers in the fridge?" He looks kind of pissed off that I'm rejecting his beer. I sigh impatiently.

"I said alcoholic, _Puckerman_, not pink and fruity. I thought you'd have some spirits or something."

"Wait," Brittany says suddenly. "I have something." I stare, wide eyed, as she reaches into her bag and inexplicably, pulls out a large bottle of vodka. It's only about three quarters full, but there's still probably more alcohol in it than in all the beers on the table combined.

"Brittany," I demand, "where the _hell_ did you get that?"

"Holy crap, Brittany. You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Noah says, grinning. Brittany shrugs slightly, smiling.

"It was in the cupboard in my dad's study. I found it when I was playing hide and seek with my sister last week." I don't bother to question why she was trying to hide in a liquor cabinet, but instead smirk and take her hand.

"C'mon Britt, let's get started on this stuff." She giggles as I pour a generous amount into two plastic red cups, filling up the rest with coke. It smells just like coke but when I take a sip I can taste a slight unfamiliar bitterness to it. We stand, nursing our drinks as Puckerman leans over on the counter with his beer. It's obvious he's interested in us. I'm not really listening to him as he goes on about the game and how many awesome tackles or catches he made. I peer around, observing the other football players and Cheerios at the party and smiling to myself. This is so cool. Thank god I made that damn squad.

After a couple of those drinks I start feeling a slight buzz, like a tingling just under my skin. It's unusual but not unpleasant. I've never really drunk heavily before, just experimented here and there. I'm not afraid to have a good time though, so I let Brittany pour me another. That's most likely a mistake, because that girl probably has no idea how to pour a regular drink, let alone one with vodka in it. I wince as I sip at the cup she hands to me, feeling a slight need to gag.

"Wow, Britt. Think I'm just gonna put some more coke in this." I gasp, reaching for the bottle. She giggles uncontrollably and takes a large drink from her own cup. There are a couple more football players gathered around us now, obviously attracted by our short skirts and flirty laughs. I giggle at the right moments and make all the right gentle touches on their arms. God, this is too easy, I have them practically begging for our attention.

After we finish our drinks, Brittany leans over to me and whispers right in my ear, "Santana, I have to pee," and then giggles again like it's some big dirty secret. I laugh out loud. "Come with me?" she says, swinging my hand in hers persuasively. I roll my eyes.

"Fine." I smile sweetly at the boys around us. "If you'll excuse us." I step around them.

"Uh, you're coming back though, right?" a guy with spiky blonde hair holding a bottle of beer ask us desperately. I think he's a sophomore.

"Oh yeah sure," I gush, not caring either way. As we pass into the corridor we see Quinn standing against a wall, holding a wine cooler, with Finn leaning over her, that dopey grin on his face again. I wink and laugh as I pass her. She notices and gave me a small smug smile back. Personally I don't think she has anything to be smug about at all. She could have any guy she wants at this party eating out of her hand and she chooses _him_? I laugh as I drag Brittany upstairs by the pinky.

"What's so funny, Santana?" She laughs.

"Just looking at Q and Frankenteen over there. I mean, honestly, get a room." I reply, grinning madly. She laughs some more and I join her, even though it really shouldn't be that funny. For some reason I feel super happy and everything is making me laugh. It's weird but also awesome, I think, deciding I like vodka. There's someone in the bathroom so we lean against the wall and wait. "So Britt," I say to her, devilishly, "got your eye on anyone down there?" She shrugs happily.

"They're all cute."

"Yupp. And they all want _us._" I smile wickedly. The bathroom door opens, and one of the other freshman cheerios stumbles out, almost walking into us. "Watch it," I snarl at her, pushing past into the bathroom. "Drunk bitch." Brittany snorts with laughter as I lock the door, walking up to the mirror to inspect myself. I smooth my hair down where it's sticking up slightly and apply some more lip gloss. I may be feeling those drinks a bit but I'm still smoking hot. Brittany bumps my hip with hers, nudging me out the way so she can wash her hands. I chuckle and steady myself against the wall before going to the bathroom myself. As soon as I'm finished washing my hands she's grabbing at them.

"C'mon, Santana, let's get some more drinks."

"Yes, let's," I agree, not wanting to lose this giddy, warm feeling the vodka has given me.

After going back downstairs we find that the coke is finished so we just take drinks of the spirit by itself. Brittany goes first, taking a swig out the bottle. She swallows hard and pulls a face, coughing.

"Oh my god, that's totally gross. It tastes like my mom's cleaning product." I don't want to know how she knows that, so I just grab it off her and take it to my own lips. I take a small drink of the clear liquid, and it's horrible. It's like that bitter taste from before but impossibly strong. It burns my throat as I force myself to swallow it, fighting my gag reflex.

"Oh wow. You weren't lying." I cough as it slides down my throat. Once the initial urge to vomit has passed though, I feel a heat spreading through my stomach, which to be honest, feels pretty good. A slow smile spreads across my face, as I look to Brittany. "More?" She grins back and takes the bottle from me. We take it in turns for a while, and soon we're laughing too much to continue. The guys are back again, and they're nudging each other and grinning as they watch us. They must think Christmas has come early.

"Okay," I say louder than I mean to, "who wants to dance?" I wink and smile at no one in particular. Britt's eyes widen in excitement and she says,

"Totally! Let's go!" skipping off already. I follow close behind her with the group of boys trailing behind us. Most people are in the living room already, and there's a fair amount of bodies dancing to the music thumping from the huge speakers against the wall. As soon as I reach the dance floor some guy is behind me, sliding his hands onto my hips and dancing with me. I'm surprised, but I don't resist, loving the attention. I spy Brittany and notice another football player has latched onto her too. I throw my head back and laugh, my head hitting the guys shoulder. He grabs my waist and turns me to face him. He's not bad looking, actually, with soft, short brown hair and long eyelashes. I trial my fingertips down his chest seductively, enjoying the way I can tell exactly what he's thinking. His right hand slides up my back, behind my head, and I realize he's going to kiss me. He leans in and I can smell his hot beer breath on my face. I vaguely think to myself for a moment that I've never really kissed anyone before. Not like this anyway. This is new territory. It should be a big deal, but honestly, the vodka is pumping through me and it comes easily to me when I slide my hand round the back of his neck and press my lips into his, pulling him down slightly to meet me. His mouth is hotter and wetter than I expected, but I stop noticing after a moment; it seems the alcohol inside me is numbing the sensation. As soon as I start kissing him, he reacts instantly, pushing his lips into mine, hard, and applying pressure with the hand on the small of my back. It feels okay, I guess, but I don't see why he's being so aggressive. A couple of seconds later his tongue pushes between my lips, and I'm not expecting it. I can sense it, the unfamiliar taste in my own mouth and it's kind of weird. After a moment I adjust to it though, and it doesn't feel so strange anymore.

I humor him for a while longer, but eventually get bored and pull away, opening my eyes. Everything seems suddenly bright and loud. I grin seductively and wink at the guy opposite me. "Thanks for the dance," I say, before moving away and leaving him dancing alone. Out of the corner of my eye I see Brittany making out with her football player too. I laugh to myself and head back to the kitchen for another drink. I feel like I've lost some of that buzz I had before and I want it back. I find Quinn standing against the kitchen counter, commanding the attention of Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman.

"Hey, Q, what's the chat?" I say to her, taking the vodka out from where Britt and I hid it earlier. I saunter over and lean beside her, taking a drink. She smirks.

"You're drunk." She giggles uncharacteristically. I raise my eyebrows.

"Not sounding too sober yourself, Q." The two boys grin sleazily at each other as if they've achieved something.

"Well at least I'm not full on making out with the first football player I see in front of everyone" she teases. I scoff.

"What, 'cause you're Quinn freakin' Fabray, far too good for that kind of behavior, are you?" It comes out bitchy and her eyes narrow. Finn and Puckerman glance at each other uneasily. Before she can talk back, Brittany skips into the kitchen behind me and practically bowls me over with a hug.

"Santanaa!"

"Hey Britt-Britt," I laugh. "What happened to dancing?" She makes a face.

"Some crappy song came on. I tried to change it but I couldn't find the right button and ended up turning the TV on, which made people get mad. Anyway, I'm thirsty." She shrugs, taking the vodka bottle out my hands. I can't be bothered pointing out that vodka won't quench her thirst. She leans into my side, almost losing her balance several times. It's weird seeing my friends like this. Quinn's all giggly and happy as she chats to Finn and Puckerman and Brittany is just all over the place. I hope I'm not acting like that. All I know is I feel awesome. I grin goofily to myself.

As the night goes on time seems to pass slowly and quickly at the same time. I drift between the kitchen and the dance floor and get into random conversations with people I've never even spoken to before.

On my third trip to the bathroom Brittany is with me again and this time she's clutching the almost empty bottle of vodka. I'm holding a wine cooler but I don't remember where or when I got it. I'm not even really drinking it. The bathroom is in a much worse state than it was earlier, with toilet paper smeared all over the floor and empty bottles and cups adorning the shelves and floor. It still serves its purpose though. At some point between leaving the bathroom and coming back downstairs Brittany has managed to lose her drink, which I think is probably for the best considering the way she's falling into my side and can't stop laughing. Her giggling sets me off too, and I wonder what the hell we must look like, stumbling down the stairs laughing our heads off like idiots. When we finally reach the living room we almost trip over a group of people sitting in a small circle in the corner.

"What the - ?" I mumble, steadying myself. The guy in front of me squints up. It's the blonde, spiky-haired jock from before.

"Hey, baby. We're playing Spin the Bottle," he slurs, "Wanna join?" He wiggles his eyebrows. I roll my eyes, but Brittany is desperate to play so I sit down beside her. Someone reaches forward and sloppily spins an empty beer bottle. The music is still pumping loud behind us and someone has turned the lights in the living room low. I watch the dancers in the middle of the room for a while, strangely mesmerized. I don't realize some girl is saying my name until Brittany tugs excitedly on my arm.

"Santana, it landed on you, you have to kiss him!" I look back and see the bottle pointed at me. The blonde guy is looking at me expectantly with a goofy grin on his face. I laugh and sit up.

"Right." I crawl over to him and lean on his shoulders, kissing him the same way I kissed that other guy. Again, the sensation is strange initially, but eventually it feels the same way it did before. I pull away first, as the circle of drunk teenagers whoop and clap in appreciation. God, this game is just weird.

We play for a while longer and I have to kiss the blonde guy again as well as some heavyset black guy sitting opposite me. Brittany kisses all three of the guys who are playing with us. It looks like she's good at it. She seems to like it too. Eventually I get bored and Brittany is leaning her head on my shoulder, practically falling asleep where she sits. I stand shakily and pull her up after me.

"C'mon Britt, this place is dead. Let's go." There are still plenty of people milling around in the living room talking loudly but no one is dancing any more, and several football players are lying slumped on the couch. We make our way outside where some jocks are chatting on the front doorstep. When they see we're leaving one of them offers us a ride. I'm pretty sure he just wants in our pants but we accept anyway, it's better than walking. Also, I have no idea where we are and I think it's highly unlikely that Brittany knows how to get home. The guy drops us at Brittany's house and we cling to each other getting out the car. "Bye! Thanks for the ride!" I practically yell at him, my voice hoarse. He smiles as if laughing and nods before driving away. Thankfully Brittany manages to find her house keys and we sneak upstairs, giggling about how subtle and clever we are. I collapse backwards onto her bed while she pulls off her crumpled Cheerio's uniform and changes into pajama shorts and a baggy t-shirt. It's now I realize how completely exhausted I am. I think at some point I forgot all about that whole football game performance earlier on. I smile lazily up at Brittany in her pajamas as she tugs her ponytail free. "Hmmm, those look comfy." She gives me a dopey smile back and tosses something soft onto my stomach.

"So put yours on, silly." I groan and drag my torso up off her bed, lazily unzipping and lifting off my cheerios top and sliding the t-shirt she threw to me over my head. I let my own hair free, not realizing until now how uncomfortable it had been with it tied up before. She sits cross-legged in front of me, swaying slightly as she unties the laces of my sneakers and pulls off my shoes and socks. I realize I will have to stand up to get my shorts on, and reluctantly get up unsteadily, only for long enough to change into them. After fumbling to unclasp my bra and awkwardly tugging it off, I tuck myself into Brittany's bed while she goes to turn the light off. I sink into the pillows and I don't think I've ever been so comfortable in my life. My head is spinning though and it feels like the whole room is moving. I feel Britt get into bed beside me. I snuggle into her side, trying to make the world stop racing around. She's so warm and soft and I feel grounded as I nestle my head on her shoulder and slide my arm around her torso. She pulls the covers over us and tucks me in closer.

"Night, Santana," she sighs and she presses a small kiss to the top of my head. It's the last thing I feel before I drift off, lulled to sleep by the feel of her steady breathing underneath me and her soft heartbeat by my ear.


	3. Chapter 3

My first conscious thought in the morning is that I'm thirsty. Like, really thirsty. And there's a weird taste in my mouth. I think it's what woke me up. I open my eyes and I'm met with a face full of wild blonde curls. Brittany's hair tickles my eyelids and I blink it away. She's lying next to me with her back to me and my arms are wound around her middle. Her hands are limp over my own; she must still be asleep. I smile to myself at our position. Brittany and I were friends in middle school but being in high school and Cheerios over the past few weeks has brought us a lot closer recently. I've never really had a "best friend" before but it strikes me now that she's probably the closest thing I've got.

I'm so comfortable nestled against her that I could probably stay here forever if it wasn't for the fact that I feel more dehydrated than I ever have in my entire life. I retract my arms and roll away from her. She stirs and draws her limbs into her body a little as if missing my warmth, but she doesn't wake up. I throw my legs over the edge of the bed and start to stand up. I abruptly sit back down though when my head starts spinning uncontrollably and I almost lose my balance. "Woah…" I mumble, putting a hand to my head. I take a deep breath, trying again more slowly and manage to stay up this time. My body is heavy and my head feels sensitive as I drag myself to Brittany's bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind me. I pour myself a cup of cold water and drink the whole thing in one. I immediately feel better, and fill another one, sipping at it while I look in the mirror across from me. I've definitely looked better. I never took off my make-up before I went to bed so it's smudged slightly around my eyes, which look kind of red. My hair hangs limply around my shoulders and it smells like beer. I lean down and wash my face with cold water as I remember the events of the previous evening. I think of the way I rambled on to that guy that dropped us off at Brittany's and cringe slightly. I'm not too concerned though, because some people _really_ embarrassed themselves last night. Compared to them I was on my best behavior. I think of the Cheerio who drank too much beer and threw up all over the quarterback on the couch. I smirk at the memory.

I pick up my cup and step back into Brittany's room. She's sitting up now, rubbing at her face. "Morning, Sunshine," I say, heading over to perch on the end of the bed. My voice sounds hoarse and scratchy. She peers blearily back at me and smiles in greeting.

"Is that water?" she croaks. I nod and hand it to her, careful to make sure she doesn't spill it all over her sheets. She gulps it down, finishing it in one like me and places the empty cup on her nightstand. "Last night was fun," she says, turning back to me and smiling.

"Sure was. Can't wait for the next one," I reply, lying down and propping my head up on my elbow to look at her.

"Totally." Her eyes widen suddenly and she giggles. "Oh my god, do you remember kissing all those boys in Spin the Bottle?"

I smirk and say, "Yupp. They're lucky guys." She grins. "Saw you getting your mack on with that jock on the dance floor too," I tease her, punching her knee lightly.

"I was just copying you," she laughs. "I think I like making out. I'm totally good at it too." I raise my eyebrows but don't comment.

We spend the morning lying around in her room in our pajamas gossiping and reminiscing about the party. Eventually Quinn calls and invites us over so we get dressed and head downstairs. Brittany's dad greets us and asks us how the party went. We exchange a quick glance and reply that it was fun, trying not to laugh. I don't think Brittany's parents quite grasp what kind of thing goes on at these house parties, otherwise I doubt they'd ever have let her go. I just told mine I was sleeping over at Brittany's and they assumed we'd spend the whole night tucked up in bed watching movies and braiding each other's hair.

We head out and over to Quinn's place. Her house is practically a palace. Her mom greets us at the door and directs us up the two flights of stairs to Quinn's bedroom. "Quinnie's just upstairs in her room. Let me know if you girls need anything," she says, giving us a painfully sweet smile. Now I know where Quinn gets it.

Quinn is sitting at her vanity desk, curling her hair when we enter. We flop down on her bed, crossing our legs. "Well," she says, spinning to face us, "you two are looking a lot better today than I expected." She smirks at us. I simply laugh off the comment and Brittany smiles, apparently accepting it as a compliment.

"Please," I say, "We were fine. We were having a good time is all." I wave my hand dismissively. "What happened to you anyway? Disappear with Finn, did you?" She smiles knowingly and turns back to her mirror.

"He walked me home. But we just talked, that's all." She pauses. "He asked me out." I almost laugh, then I see her delighted expression. "I said yes." I look at Brittany, who looks just as grossed out as me. Who knew Quinn Fabray was such a sap?

"So," I laugh in disbelief, "you actually like the teen giant?" She narrows her eyes at me.

"Think about it, Santana. Finn is by far the most talented freshman on the football team, and he's set to become quarterback next year for sure. And if _I'm_ dating him, I'll be untouchable. We'll be McKinley's power couple." She smiles. "And then I'll be head cheerleader."

I fold my arms and glare at her. "No way will Coach make you head cheerleader. You're too young." She just keeps that smug look on her face as she applies her lip gloss.

"We'll see." She says quietly. I narrow my eyes at the back of her head. So the _real_ reason she's trailing after Finn Hudson is so she can rise to the top of the high school food chain and earn a spot on top of the pyramid. Normally the suggestion would be downright stupid, but I'm not so sure. Coach Sylvester definitely has a soft spot for the blonde and if Quinn plays her cards right, she might just give her the title she's after. I fall silent as Quinn bores us with the details of her and Finn's blossoming relationship.

Later, when we're alone, Brittany brings it up again. We're walking down the street, having just left Quinn's. "Why does Quinn want to date Finn Hudson?" she asks me suddenly. "He's like, so not hot." I chuckle.

"I know, right? It's because he's popular. She thinks that if they're together, she'll be more popular too." I pause, shrugging. "She's probably right." Brittany makes a face.

"Gross."

"Totally," I agree. "But, whatever. If Q wants to do things her way I couldn't care less. Personally I'm not too worried about either of our reputations." I link our pinkies and grin at her. "I'll make sure we stay on top." She smiles back at me, swinging our linked arms.

"Awesome."

* * *

><p>As freshman year continues, things just get better. The Cheerios' training continues and we take first place at sectionals easily. Quinn, Brittany and I are officially the top bitches of freshman year, and people start calling us "The Unholy Trinity." It's fitting. Coach Sylvester has us acting as her minions in her insane schemes and running errands for her left and right. I take every opportunity I can to remind the other students who's in charge. Every so often, I see that dwarf, Rachel Berry, and never fail to insult whatever hideous ensemble she's turned up to school in that day.<p>

In January Quinn finally starts dating that idiot, Finn Hudson, and she hangs off his arm like a prize as they walk through the hallways.

We get invited to all the cool parties, showing up in our Cheerios uniforms and flirting with all the right people. By the time February rolls around I think I've made out with just about every single boy on the football team and the same goes for Brittany. Except for Finn of course, he's off-limits. Although Quinn's so frigid I doubt she's even kissed him yet.

One Saturday night in March, we're in some jock's house surrounded as usual by football players desperate for some action. Quinn is sitting across the room in Finn's lap, innocently sipping a drink. Brittany and I nod and smile as the boys tell us their stories, each more loud and boastful than the one before. I'm drunk, as usual, so it's not difficult to zone out and pretend to be listening.

"Mmm, yeah totally," I say as the guy opposite me finishes talking and grins at me. Eventually I get bored and head to the dance floor. It doesn't take long before someone grabs me and he's kissing me forcefully against the wall. It might be the same guy from a minute ago. I smile into it and run my fingers through his curly hair, the alcohol I've drunk boosting my confidence. He seems to like it, and he slides his right hand up my torso, squeezing my breast over my Cheerio's top. I'm surprised and I consider stopping him, but decide against it. I knew something like this was bound to happen sooner or later anyway; I might as well go with it. He presses his hips into my leg and I can feel his hard dick, pressing into my thigh. He grinds into me and I don't object. After a few minutes I pull away and give him my sexy smile. He grabs my hand and takes me upstairs.

I don't know if this is his house or not, but he pulls me into a dark, empty bedroom and shuts the door behind us. I sit on the bed and he pushes me down, kissing me hard again. As he crawls on top of me and moves us back, I decide to let it happen. It was always going to be like this, I think. I'm not like Quinn who seems to think losing the big V is some magical experience which should be saved for marriage. I just want to get it done and see what all the fuss is about. I smirk up at the guy above me who's breathing heavily all over my face, and reach down under my skirt to slide my _Spankies_ down to my ankles. He looks like he can't believe his luck. He gets up and undoes his pants as fast as he can, taking out his wallet and unwrapping a condom. I wait patiently as he fumbles to get it on and get's back on the bed hovering over me.

"You've done this before right?" I question, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah course, babe." He grins cockily and pushes his lip back onto mine roughly. I reciprocate and soon I feel him position the tip of his dick where he thinks is the right place. I roll my eyes and reach down, pushing it down a little so he doesn't miss. Without a warning he lunges forward, plunging into me. All the air goes out my lungs. It _hurts_. Like, it _really _hurts. It takes all my will power not to cry out in pain. I feel like I'm being stabbed with something sharp inside my stomach. I barely have time to adjust before he yanks out and thrust back in again, causing another sharp stab of hot pain. I try to control my breathing and get used to the sensation of him pushing mercilessly in and out of me. After a while the pain dulls and I close my eyes. I scrape my fingernails up and down his back, wrapping my legs around his hips. He seems to like this and pounds harder, panting. I wonder if this is supposed to feel good. It's probably just because it's my first time that it hurts so much. I find myself kind of wishing it was over already. I kiss his neck and dig my fingertips into his lower back. Eventually he grunts, thrusting in quickly a few times, before slowing. "I just came," he says, as if it isn't obvious. "You done, baby?" Is he serious? No, but I doubt there's anything you can do about it, I think to myself, but I smile sweetly up at him as he pulls out and say,

"Yeah. Thanks for that."

He grins and says, "No problem," before pulling up his pants. I reach for my _Spankies_ and yank them up. I slide off the bed and go to open the door, light spilling in from the hallway.

"See you around," I mutter before slipping out. I stand in the hallway, not really sure what I'm supposed to do now. After a couple moments I head to the bathroom, locking the door behind me. The place between my legs hurts like hell, I feel like someone stuck a sword down there. I find some drops of blood as well, after some investigation. I feel sobered up, so eventually I head back out and downstairs to get another drink. I join Brittany who's still chatting to some football players. She grins drunkenly at me.

"You look serious. Here, have some tequilaaa!" I grin back as she hands me the bottle. I can't stand the stuff but I drink some anyway to take my mind off what just happened. I don't know why it's even bothering me. I just thought it would be more fun...or something. I guess I'm just disappointed.

Before I know it I'm back to my old self, thanks to a few shots of the tequila. I laugh at myself for being so silly before, and Brittany laughs with me and the night goes on as usual.

* * *

><p>Later, after we've finally fallen into her bed like we always do at the end of the night, my mind returns to what I did with that guy earlier. "Britt?" I'm not sure if she's asleep or not but I lightly shake her shoulder anyway.<p>

"Mmm?" she murmurs sleepily, turning to face me.

"I need to tell you something," I whisper loudly. I'm still drunk and the words come out in a rush. She blinks back at me waiting. I suddenly feel nervous.

"Um…well tonight I was making out with this guy…" She nods, waiting for more. "..and then we went upstairs and made out and then we like….went all the way," I finish. She frowns. "We had sex," I mumble.

"Oh!" Her eyes widen and she giggles. We've briefly discussed this a few times before and we both agreed that sex wouldn't really be a big deal. I know she's still a virgin. "And? How was it? With who? Tell me everything!" Her eyes sparkle in excitement. I laugh, and shrug.

"Some football player. He's older, not a freshman." I pause, not really sure what to say next. "It was…" I say hesitating, "…okay, I guess," I finish uncertainly. I realize how bad that sounds and I say, "It was good. Anyway, it was my first time. It can only get better from here right?" I smirk at her. She's nodding unsurely. There's a short silence.

"Are you okay?" she asks me after a moment. For a second I want to tell her no, I'm not and cry to her about much it hurt and still does. Then I tell myself to suck it up and stop being such a baby about it, and just smile like I have no idea what she's talking about.

"Totally. Why wouldn't I be? It's not like it's a big deal." I don't meet her gaze.

"Okay," she says, after looking at me for a moment. Then she gently reaches forward and pulls me in close so my head rests just underneath hers. As she tucks me in to her body I snake my arms around her middle and bury my face in her neck, breathing in her scent. It's comforting and I feel myself relax. I forget all about that stupid boy from earlier and eventually drift off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

After that night, I sleep with more boys. During spring break, there are loads of parties because people's parents go on holiday leaving their kids in charge of an empty house. Guys approach me on the dance floor and convince me to go upstairs with them and hey, if they're hot, I don't really see any point in refusing. I was right; it definitely gets easier after the first time. Eventually, Brittany starts doing it too, after hearing me talk about it. She seems to enjoy it and we trade stories, giggling about who's better in bed than who. Quinn isn't part of these discussions of course. She's still dating Finn and not letting him past first base. I quite like that Brittany and I have this thing between us, that she's not a part of. In a way it's brought us closer.

One night I head upstairs with Puck. He insists that everyone calls him that now and the nickname has kind of stuck. I'm surprised to find that he's actually good in the sack. Instead of just pounding in and out until he gets off, he actually focuses some energy on me. For once I actually leave the bedroom feeling satisfied and I remind myself to go back to him another time. Not that I'd ever tell him that of course. His ego's big enough as it is.

I start going to Puck's every now and then in the evenings. I tell my parents that I'm just heading to Brittany's place to do homework but instead go over to Puck's, where he sneaks me upstairs.

The Cheerios have just taken regionals and now Coach Sylvester is working us harder than ever for nationals. I'm pretty sure we've got it in the bag. The routine she has us learning is the most elaborate one we've done so far and at the moment it's looking pretty damn good. Quinn still has her eye on that Head Cheerleader spot, and she takes every opportunity to suck up to Coach that she possibly can. She's quickly become the favorite and always seems to get chosen for the best parts in the routine. And she got that spot at the top of the pyramid. Brittany and I are right underneath her, of course.

I hate to say it, but her nauseating relationship with Finn has totally boosted her reputation even higher than it was before. She completely has him wrapped around her little finger. Eventually I follow her lead and start dating a sophomore football player who I've slept with a couple of times. I still sneak out to Puck's though. I don't really give a damn about my new boyfriend; frankly he's just arm candy to make me look better. Naturally, Brittany copies me and starts dating one of his friends. It has the desired effect of course but having boyfriends means we can't make out with whoever we want at parties.

After the football team somehow manages to win another game, Puck throws a party at his place. The rest of his family is away visiting relatives in New Jersey. I arrive with Brittany. Quinn is with us too but as soon as she sees Finn she runs to his side. We head to the kitchen to see what alcohol is available. As usual, it's pretty much all cheap beer. We never drink the stuff because for one thing we don't wanna get fat, and for another it's watered down so much that it's barely alcoholic. Plus I hate the taste. I reach into my bag and pull out the vodka I brought just in case. Puck has a cousin with a fake ID who got it for me. As I pour two drinks for us, the sophomores we're dating saunter in behind us. "Hey, Santana." I'm grabbed around the waist and pulled in for a kiss. His hand presses against my lower back possessively. Normally I wouldn't mind but right now I wants to get my drink on. I lightly push him away and return to my vodka lemonade.

After a few minutes Puck and Matt Rutherford walk up and ask us if we want to play a drinking game. A group of us sit at the table playing Ring of Fire. Soon I can feel my drinks starting to take effect; the alcohol pumps through me to the beat of the music blasting from Puck's living room. I reach forward and take one of the few remaining cards, turning it to see I've pulled the last King. Which means I'll have to drink the vile concoction in the middle of the circle; a mixture of vodka, lemonade, beer, wine cooler and god knows what else. "Damn it…" I try to place the card back down without anyone noticing but Puck points a finger at me, grinning.

"Down it, Lopez." I eye the mixture dubiously as I lift it to my face, smelling it experimentally. It smells like the Sue Sylvester Master Cleanse. Everyone around the table shouts and claps as I start drinking it down. Thankfully there's not too much of the stuff so it's gone in less than ten seconds. I wipe my mouth, trying not to puke all over everyone and grin triumphantly. They all whoop and cheer when I finish, the guy next to me slapping me on the back. That doesn't help with the trying not to puke but I manage to keep it down. I think I'll wait a while before having another drink. They start up another game but I don't bother joining in, instead climbing into my "boyfriend's" lap and kissing him in front of everyone.

After a while my head starts spinning a bit too much and I start to lose my balance, almost falling off his lap onto the ground. "Woah, careful there, baby," he says, pulling me in.

"I'm fine," I snap. "I don't need your help." He raises his eyebrows at my tone but I just roll off him, standing up. "Whatever. I'll see you later." I go to make myself another drink, for lack of anything better to do. He's pissing me off and I don't want to be around him anymore. I take my drink upstairs and wait outside the bathroom, needing to pee.

Eventually I'm finished my drink and the damn bathroom is still occupied. Cursing under my breath, I bang on the door. "Hey! Hurry up why don't you? Have you fallen in or something? I've been waiting for ages here!" After a moment I hear someone unlocking the door and it pulls open. I'm faced with Brittany who is in fits of laughter. I frown. "Britt? Jeez, what the hell were you doing in there for so long?" I push past her into the bathroom.

"I just came in here to pee then I forgot how to leave," she says as if that's a perfectly reasonable excuse. I can't help but laugh at her.

"Sometimes I worry about you, Britt-Britt," I say, grinning happily. She smiles back and starts twirling around the room like she's doing ballet recital. When I'm done I grab her hand and open the door, mumbling, "Watch and learn, Britt."

We head back to the kitchen, which is full of boys in letterman jackets. As we enter Britt's pulling me behind her and I whack the top of my head off a cupboard door which is hanging open. "Owww!" I whine, scrunching up my face in pain. Some of the boys laugh. Brittany spins around.

"Oh my god, Santana, I'm so sorry!" she gushes as though I'm mortally injured. "Are you okay?" She pulls me to her, cradling my head and kissing the spot where I hit it off the door. The guys are still watching and one of them shouts,

"Make out!" I laugh and pat Britt's hand.

"I'm fine, it was my own dumb fault," I giggle. The group of guys in the kitchen have started up a chant.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!" I look at Brittany. Well, why the hell not? I look at the boys around us, flashing them a wicked grin, before winding my arms around her neck and pulling her in towards me. She catches on and smiles, placing her hands on my waist. Leaning forward, I lightly press my lips onto hers and start kissing her. The boys all erupt in cheers and shouts of appreciation. I've never kissed a girl before, and my first thought is that it's different. Her lips are impossibly soft, and there's none of the scratchiness from stubble that's I'm used to with boys. My second thought is that I like it. She doesn't push her mouth forcefully into me, just gently moves her lips over mine, her hands still resting lightly on my hips. She takes my bottom lip between both of hers and sucks gently. Damn, she _is_ good at this. Somewhere in the back of my vodka soaked mind I wonder why the hell we haven't done this before. The boys are going wild as they watch us. After a few more moments I release her and step back, giggling a little.

"Alright pervs. Show's over." They groan in protest before going back to whatever they were doing before. Brittany smiles at me.

"You're a totally awesome kisser, Santana," she says happily. I smirk.

"Not so bad yourself, Britt-Britt." I grab her pinky with mine. "Let's get some drinks."

Later on, the music is louder than ever and I'm dancing in the middle of a throng of bodies by the speakers. All around me guys are grinding up against the girls and I can feel some guy trying to get in behind me. I've had a fair bit to drink and I don't hesitate before whipping around and pulling his body into mine. He grinds into me unceremoniously and I pull his head towards mine, kissing him roughly. We make out for a few minutes oblivious to whoever might be watching. So much for my sophomore boyfriend. I pull back to see if it's him I'm kissing and as I try to focus I realize it's the guy Brittany's supposed to be dating. I throw my head back and laugh uncontrollably. He seems confused at what's so funny. Out of the corner of my eye I see his girlfriend standing on a table, whirling her Cheerios top around her head, her hair loose. I laugh some more and wander away from the guy I've grown bored with. I flop down next to Quinn on the couch. I'm surprised she's still here; usually she would have drifted away with Finn hours ago. She's giving me her judgmental eyes which let me know she disapproves of my behavior. I get them a lot. I roll my eyes to show I don't give a crap what Little Miss Perfect has to say. Out of the two of us it's obvious who's having more fun, I think, smirking as I settle back to observe the antics of the drunk teenagers before us.

* * *

><p>The next morning I wake up as usual in Brittany's bed, our legs tangled together. We always go back to hers afterwards because my parents say I'm not old enough to go to house parties, not until I'm in sophomore year. Thankfully they don't speak much with Brittany's mom and dad.<p>

This time, I have my back turned to her and her arms are loosely connected in front of my stomach. I feel her breath tickling the back of my neck as she sleeps on. I always wake up before her on mornings like this. I turn slowly in her arms to face her, careful not to disturb her sleep. Our position reminds me of the one we were in last night when she was kissing me and I smile at the memory. I look over her lips, remembering how soft they felt and wondering if mine felt like that to her. I never expected kissing a girl could be so different to a boy. I don't realize I'm staring at her until she stirs, shifting the arm I'm lying on. I let her move it and she opens her eyes, blinking at me. "Hey, Britt-Britt," I say softly as she slowly becomes more conscious. She smiles and mumbles some kind of greeting back at me.

"Good time last night," she says sleepily.

"For sure," I reply, smirking. "You seemed to be enjoying putting on a show for everyone up on that table. We were looking for your shirt for ten minutes before we could leave." She chuckles. I look at her in mock seriousness. "I'm afraid I have something to tell you though, Britt." I sigh as she looks at me curiously. "I may have accidentally made out with your boyfriend. I hope you can forgive me," I say with a grin. She ponders this news for a moment, then shrugs.

"Hmm. Well I don't think we were really properly dating anyway."

"No," I agree.

"Plus I'm pretty sure I made out with like, three other guys last night anyway." She laughs and smiles coyly at me. "And one girl." I smile back at her slightly as she looks into my eyes. There's a pause. Then, "I really liked it. Kissing you, I mean," she says simply. My cheeks become a little hot under her stare.

"Me too," I breathe. She looks at me for a second longer then shifts closer. I don't know what the hell's wrong with me but my heart is suddenly beating faster than normal and I feel too warm under her sheets. She lifts her left hand and places it on my right shoulder. I can feel its warmth even through my t-shirt. What's she doing? Before I know it she's pressing me down onto my back with that same hand. She rolls over, lifting her left leg and placing it on my other side so she's hovering over me. Her hands rest on my shoulders. Then I see her bite her lip the same way I've seen her do a million times before to guys and I realize with a jolt that she's going to kiss me again. My heart starts racing and I swear she must be able to hear it. I trail my fingertips up her smooth arms that are still pressing me to the pillow and stop at her elbows. She starts to lean down and as her face gets closer I feel myself bite my own lip in anticipation. She rests her forehead against mine for a moment and I feel her light breath on my lips. She's so close. Then, after a beat, her lips are touching mine again. They're even softer and warmer than I remember. My eyes flutter closed. Now, without the haze of alcohol between us, I'm hyper aware of everything she's doing. I can sense her face just an inch from mine as her lips press into me. I feel the steady rise and fall of her breathing as she rests her torso lightly on mine. Her knees hug my hips where she's sitting on top of me. Her lips start moving over mine gently and slowly and I kiss her back. Her right hand begins to move, just as I wind both my arms around her waist, stroking slowly up and down her back. She softly brushes a strand of hair off my forehead and oh my god, she's doing that thing again where she sucks on my bottom lip. It feels _so_ good, especially now that I'm sober and can feel it properly. I can't help but sigh against her. My mouth is open now and I feel her tongue flicking lightly at my lips. I lift my head slightly and allow her to kiss me fully, slipping my own tongue between her lips. Her soft blonde hair tumbles down, tickling my face and I take my right hand, smoothing it behind her ear and resting my palm on the side of her head.

In some far away corner of my mind it occurs to me that maybe it's weird that we're doing this. There aren't any guys around to watch. I dismiss the thought as quickly as it appears. We both make out with guys all the time and it doesn't mean anything. This isn't any different to that. It's just a bit of fun.

And hell, it's fun alright, I think as her lips part from mine and she dips her head lower to kiss my neck. I try to keep my breathing even as her lips and tongue softly caress the sensitive skin underneath my ear, my face to the ceiling, eyes still shut. Both my hands have now drifted to her hips. I can feel how slim her waist is through her pajama t-shirt, so different to what I'm used to and yet just like my own. Both her arms are pinned to the bed, and when she eventually brings her head up from my neck, ready to go back to my lips, I push her back. I roll us over so we're back in the position we were in before she straddled me. I figure it might be more comfortable for her. I lean in and kiss her again; still amazed at soft her mouth is compared to the countless boys I've done this with. After a few more moments I slow down and she breaks away. She simply looks at me for a couple of seconds, then smiles and says, "That was hot." I just nod, looking back at her.

She rolls away and sits on the edge of her bed. Before she stands up she turns and gives me a flirty smile, biting her lip again. My heart jumps as she says, "We should totally do that more often."


	5. Chapter 5

Over the following weeks, scenes like the one in her bedroom that morning arise a few more times. We'll just be hanging out in one of our bedrooms listening to music or gossiping about other Cheerios and once she gets bored she'll just casually ask me if I want to make out. After the first couple of times it doesn't seem so bizarre. I always say yes and we'll lie down and get our mack on for a while, before going back to whatever we were doing before. It's fun. It's so easy and gentle with her and she's always wearing a different flavor of Lip Smackers, making her lips taste all fruity. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm still sleeping with boys. I'm not about to go all Ellen DeGeneres for my best friend. It's just this thing we do, that makes our friendship a bit more flirty and exciting. No big deal. Eventually I start initiating it too every now and then and she'll grin at me shyly before lying back so I can crawl on top of her.

One day we're at the mall with Quinn. She's managed to drag herself away from Finn for five minutes and we're trailing through one of the clothing stores.

"…and then he just completely blew me off to hang out with Puck. Just like that. Can you believe that?" She tosses one hand in the air as if to question what the world is coming to.

"Unbelievable." I've been pretending to listen to her ramble on about her boyfriend's shortcomings for the past twenty minutes. Brittany, drifting behind me, looks just as enthralled. I'm thinking about what I'm gonna order at Breadstix later on. Matt Rutherford and Mike Chang have asked Britt and me on some weird double date thing. I'm not sure which one I'm meant to be going with, but I'm not really bothered if I'm getting a free meal out of it.

I glance over at the nearest shop assistant. She seems engaged with some woman who's apparently looking for some training bras for her mortified-looking daughter, trailing behind her. I lean down and pretend to search for something in my bag. Before standing again I dart my hand out and quickly slip a pair of sunglasses I've had my eye on into my bag. I straighten up and confirm that the action went unnoticed. Even Quinn seems oblivious as she inspects a floral summery dress which I wouldn't be caught dead in.

"So listen up, girls." She turns to us, looking excited. "I've been thinking and I have an awesome idea for a new school club next year." I raise one eyebrow and wonder what kind of crazy bible club idea she's got in her head. "I'm starting a celibacy club at McKinley." She beams. Oh my god, that's even worse. I laugh out loud.

"A celibacy club?" I repeat with disbelief. "And you want _us_ to join?" Brittany looks blankly at us.

"What's a…celibacy?"

"It means not having sex, Britt. Like, not at all. Like a nun." She frowns in confusion.

"But I like sex."

"Exactly," I say. "Which is why we're _not_ joining. Sorry, Q." Quinn narrows her eyes at me.

"Think about it. If all the cheerios join the celibacy club, it'll drive the guys wild. It'll make us off-limits and unobtainable, and therefore," she smiles, "even more desirable." I frown, still skeptical, folding my arms.

"There's no way you'll be able to get all the other girls to go celibate though. For starters, I am definitely not cool with that. And neither is Britt." She glares at me. Brittany doesn't seem bothered in the slightest by my speaking on her behalf. She simply watches our exchange with mild disinterest.

"Just consider it, will you?" Quinn says icily before stalking off ahead. I roll my eyes before following after her, Brittany at my side.

* * *

><p>Later, Brittany and I wander into Breadstix, fifteen minutes late on purpose. Our pinkies are linked and we're dressed as usual in our red and white uniforms. I spy Matt and Mike on the other side of the restaurant, sitting beside each other in a four-person booth. Jeez, they look like they're on a date. We slide in opposite them batting our eyelashes as we greet them. I take one of the bread sticks from the bowl on the table and bite into it as I look between the boys trying to decide which one I prefer. I know Brittany's not fussy so she'll take either. While we wait for our food they ask us about nationals next week out of some lame attempt at small talk and we make the appropriate responses. I lean forward, feigning interest as I ask about football, or basketball or whatever sport they're playing this week. They jump at the chance to brag about how active and fit they are and soon start complaining about how harsh Coach Tanaka is. Please, I think, try training with Sue Sylvester. These two aren't bad though, I suppose. Not as totally obnoxious as most guys I've gone out with. I sip my drink as I pretend to listen. I glance at Britt. She's twirling her hair around her finger as she gazes in adoration at Mike talking and gesturing. I can tell she's really thinking about her cat or rainbows or something. "To-otally." She says, wide eyed. He grins back at her.<p>

Afterwards, they get the bill and we head out to the parking lot. "Thanks for dinner, guys," I say. "I wonder how we can ever make it up to you." I smirk. I know this is the part where they take us back to their car for some fun times. Brittany grins at my mock innocence. The boys shuffle around, seeming unsure of what to do. Suddenly I have an idea. "Y'know, if you're feeling nervous, I know of a little something that might put you in the mood," I say seductively, winking at Matt. He stares open-mouthed as I stroke Britt's arm up and down and put my right hand on her hip. I look at them, biting my lip, as I draw her closer. She follows my lead, placing her hands on my shoulders and giving the boys a slight smile before turning to me. I place my lips on hers so lightly we're barely even touching. My left hand moves to the back of her neck and we kiss slowly so they can see every move we make. She's wearing strawberry Lip Smackers tonight and I smile slightly as I taste the sweetness. When a few moments have passed I draw back and resist laughter when I see the boys' dazed expressions. I giggle as I slide my pinky through hers. Boys are so easy.

"That was so hot." Matt manages to get out after a moment.

I end up going with Matt to his car while Brittany disappears with Mike. I straddle him in the back seat and it doesn't take long before his pants are undone and he's grunting, pushing up into me. I moan as if I'm having the time of my life because I know how the boys love it. A few minutes later we're all done and I'm stepping out of the car to wait for Brittany. I wasn't particularly impressed with Matt's performance and there's no sense in sitting unfulfilled in his car while making awkward conversation. I lean against the door and a few minutes later she walks over, swinging her hands slightly as if she's just been for a leisurely stroll in the park. "Ready to go?" I ask.

"Yeah," she replies happily, and we get into the car. Matt drives us back to mine and we head upstairs to my room. She asks how it went in the car as I stick some music on in the background. I laugh.

"Disappointing, but hey, at least we got all those free bread sticks." I flop onto my bed, kicking off my shoes and grin up at her. She laughs and joins me, lying alongside me and propping her head up on her hand. We giggle as she tells me about how Mike had a little trouble with the condom and she had to help him out. I roll my eyes. "Poor guy. Was probably still a virgin before tonight."

"Well if he was he wasn't admitting it," she chuckles. I smile and we fall silent, music playing softly in the background. She looks at me and after a moment sits up a little, shifting closer to me. Recognizing the suggestive look in her eye, I smirk and roll onto my side to face her. She reaches out a hand and her index finger trails from behind my ear to my jaw as she gently tugs my face towards hers. I oblige and lean in, kissing her for the second time that evening, except this time there are no drooling boys watching. I don't know what it is but every time we do this my face gets all warm and my heart beats harder against my ribs. It's probably just 'cause she's my closest friend and I know her better than anyone else…or something. Whatever. I'm not gonna dwell on it for too long in any case.

My right hand rests on her hip while my head leans on my left. Our lips move softly together for a few moments then I slip my tongue out and brush the tip of it lightly along her bottom lip. I feel her smile slightly as she opens her mouth a bit further to let me in. I stroke her tongue slowly with my own and she moves closer to me on the bed, her hand at my neck pressing me towards her. Both of our legs are hanging off the edge of my bed.

After a minute I realize I'm not very comfortable so I break away, turning my body and lying back on my pillows. I pull her with me by the hand and she crawls over me, settling her body over mine. She doesn't hesitate in leaning down and kissing me once more, her tongue finding its way into my mouth almost instantly. I kiss her back just as firmly, pressing my mouth into hers and my hands rise to her hair. I tease it loose from her ponytail the way I always do, gently easing the band out so it doesn't hurt. I drop it somewhere beside me, not caring where it lands. Her hair tumbles loose and I tangle my fingers in it after reaching behind my head to yank my own ponytail free. We're kissing faster now, faster than we ever have before. As her warm body pushes harder into mine I feel that urge between my legs flare up, the one that Matt barely got going earlier. Only this time it's all over my body, filling me like a growing fire. My hands drift down her body to hold her slim waist. She lifts one of her legs so they're both now between mine, and my thighs drift apart instinctively. She settles in, her hips resting against mine. She's so warm and it feels so damn _intimate_ when her waist, stomach and chest all press into mine. "Mmm…" I mumble into her lips. Just when I think my heart can't beat any harder and my mind can't race any faster she starts sliding her hand down from my shoulder. She shifts down me a bit and sucks gently on my earlobe before kissing and licking my neck. Her hand rests for a moment on the side of my waist before she runs it slowly up to my chest. Her hand stops over my breast and she starts massaging gently, pressing her palm into me. It takes me a moment to register what's happening, then I realize what she's doing with a jolt. We've never done _this_ before. Making out for a bit of fun is one thing but this kind of stuff… is another.

"Britt – wait," I choke out. "What are you doing?" She lifts her head from my neck and smiles suggestively down at me, eyes full of lust. She looks at my lips then down at my body.

"Relax," she says, leaning down to place a light kiss on my bottom lip, before drawing back and looking me over again. She's bites her lip. "I'm hot. You're hot." She pauses. "We should do it."

I swallow when I hear her words. I can't really deny her logic. I mean, we both sleep with guys all the time, no big deal. What's the difference? And I'm so damn turned on right now. If we both want to then I don't see any reason why not. I don't know how she can possibly be so casual about the whole thing though, as though she does it everyday. I mean, I've seen her making out with a couple other girls at parties and stuff but this is new territory. The music still plays softly in the background. She's playing with the collar of my top now as she presses kisses on my neck and _damn_ that feels good. I can feel her hips rolling gently into mine and smell her shampoo from her soft blonde hair. Screw it.

"Okay…" I breathe. She shifts up to face me and smiles a little, before leaning in to kiss me again. Her hand moves back to my breast, squeezing softly through the rough material of my Cheerios top. It's not enough; I want it out of the way. I move my hand to the zipper under my arm, tugging it down. She sits up and unzips her own top, using both arms to lift it over her head. I lean forward and tug mine off so we're both in our bras. She leans down again and takes my bottom lip between hers. She slides her small fingers underneath the front of my bra and rubs my bare breast. It feels so strange with no material in the way, so much closer, somehow. Her fingers slide over my sensitive nipple and it shocks me. I gasp against her lips, my hips pushing up into hers. It feels _really_ good. My hands are on her lower back and I move them up to unclasp her bra. It comes loose at the front and I push my fingers underneath it. The angle is awkward but I still hear her sharp intake of breath when I rub her nipple. It gets harder, quickly and her hand's movements on my breast get faster. After a moment I realize she's fumbling at my skirt, trying to find the zipper.

I sit up, surprising her. Her cheeks look a little flushed and her hair is mussed. I get off the bed, and she looks confused before she sees that I'm pulling down my skirt so I'm just in front of her in my _Spankies _and bra. She pulls her bra off her arms and wiggles out of her skirt too. I hesitate then unhook my own bra. I kneel back on the bed again as we take each other in. Her breasts are small and round and her skin is so light compared to my own. I feel so _naked_ with her eyes on me so I pull her back into me. Her toned stomach and soft breasts rub against me warmly as she crawls back in between my thighs and my breathing picks up even more. I should be cold lying there in nothing but my underwear but I feel hot all over, like I'm on fire. She grinds her hips down hard into mine and I accidentally moan quietly into her hair. This time I'm not faking it. Her face is buried in my neck again and her hand is at my breast. It's moving though. It tickles deliciously when her fingertips trace down my stomach. I feel a pang of something, maybe nerves or excitement, when they trail down to the top of my underwear. I can feel how wet I am and I'm almost embarrassed for her to find it, but I need her to touch me so bad. Slowly, she lifts the elastic and pushes her fingers in. My eyes are shut and my teeth sink into my lip in anticipation. She lowers her hand some more and cups me with her palm, pushing up gently. My mouth drops open and I hear my own breath hitch. It feels amazing already, and I want more. Next, she's probing with her middle finger, dragging it up through the wetness and sliding it over my clit. Some breathy noise escapes my throat when she touches me there. She starts rubbing little circles around it, and it makes my thighs feel weak, like jello. Holy crap. How the hell is she so good at this? It makes me think she must have been practicing on herself. And then that thought just turns me on even more. She's still at work on my neck, and now I grab her head, pulling her lips into mine, needing to feel her close.

We kiss hard and fast. Her fingers speed up and I'm vaguely aware that my hips are moving up and down involuntarily, just trying to feel more. A fiery pleasure is spreading from where she's touching me and if she keeps it up I'm not going to last much longer. As if reading my mind, she starts rubbing roughly with her thumb instead and her middle finger moves down to my entrance. I realize what she's about to do and I spread my legs further, needing it. Her finger slips inside me easily, pushing up hard. She withdraws and immediately pushes back in with two fingers. I gasp and release her lips, burying my face in her neck. Usually when boys do this it just hurts, as they thrust up harshly without warning, but right now it feels incredible. The tips of Brittany's thin fingers press against some place deep inside me making my mind go blank in ecstasy. All I can feel is her, sliding her fingers out and then in again, pushing against that spot over and over. Her breasts rub against mine as she moves over me. I rock my hips back and forth, encouraging her. I can hear myself emitting all these breathy, high pitched noises into her neck but I can't help it. I feel the pleasure spreading and growing and I know I'm close. I dig my fingers into her back and she thrusts in harder than ever, curling her fingers unexpectedly. An amazing sensation swells inside me when she does that, and next thing I know I'm lost, floating in ecstasy, eyes screwed shut in pleasure. "Ohhh…" I moan loudly against her skin. My toes curl and I hold her to me tightly. She presses her fingers into me hard, and then suddenly I'm moving against her uncontrollably as my orgasm shakes through the rest of my body. She pushes in and out a few more times, her thumb stroking my clit as I come down.

The feeling between my legs settles to a calm throbbing and she withdraws her hand. My head falls back onto the pillow and I breathe heavily, eyes still shut, trying to gather my thoughts. That was unreal. No guy has ever made me feel like _that _before, not even Puck. Hell, not even myself.

There's a thin layer of sweat on my forehead and my body is completely spent. Brittany is still hovering over me, and she swipes a strand of hair out of my eyes. I finally open them and glance up at her. She's smirking down at me, looking pretty pleased with herself.

"That was good. Like, really good," I mumble, still slightly short of breath. It's all I can say because honestly, there are no words. I have no idea if I'm going to be able to do it back to her even half as well. I actually feel kind of nervous. That's never happened before.

I place my hands on her shoulders. Her skin is hot and moist to touch and it hits me that we're lying here pressed against each other pretty much completely naked. It's weird for us to be in such an intimate position and it makes my skin tingle. It's not often that I completely undress for sex and when I do, it's usually a hard, hairy chest against me. Instead, I now have Brittany's soft breasts and unbelievably smooth skin resting on mine.

I grip her and roll us over gently so she's on her back. Her hands slide up my arms and her tongue runs once over her lips in anticipation. I swing one leg over hers so I'm straddling her thigh. I lie down, my stomach and chest landing over her side and start kissing her lips. She reciprocates instantly, tugging my bottom lip between hers and winding one hand into my hair. Her other hand slides to my waist, pulling my hips in closer. I want to touch her all over. I take one hand and lay it over her exposed breast. I start caressing it lightly, marveling at how the warm flesh feels under my palm. She hums into me as my hand drags over her nipple, so I stroke it with my fingertips. I feel her arch into me ever so slightly and I rub it between my finger and thumb, feeling it harden. Her hips are starting to move up and down subtly and I feel it against my leg. Keeping my hand working at her breast I gently push my thigh higher, pressing upwards against her _Spankies_. She makes a low noise of appreciation, pulling my face closer and kissing me deeper. She seems to be enjoying herself so far and I feel my confidence build. I reach down and start massaging her through her underwear. I'm surprised when I find how warm and damp it feels. She grinds her hips into my hand, hard.

After a few more moments, I move up to the top of her _Spankies_, fumbling slightly with the elastic as I slip my fingers inside. Moving past the soft patch of curls I start touching her tentatively. She's so wet I can hardly believe it. It feels odd to be touching another person here. I find her clit and rub with my index finger, making circles like she did to me. Apparently I'm doing something right because she breaks from my lips, gasping and throwing her head back on to the pillow. Her eyes are shut and her blonde hair spills all around her. I press a little firmer with my finger and start moving it faster. She moans a little, both her hands finding the back of my neck, fisting my hair.

"Don't stop…" she whispers. I wasn't planning on it. Her hips are twitching like she can't keep them still. I slow my movements a little, hesitating before taking the next step. I want to return what she did to me. I replace my fingers with my thumb, moving them down to her entrance. I realize the angle is going to be kind of awkward if I keep my thumb there and I shift myself slightly to make it easier. Her hands tighten in my hair and her legs open further in expectation. I watch her face as I finally slide my middle finger into her, burying it right to my knuckle. She feels hot and soft on the inside. I pull out and start to push back in, this time with my index finger as well. It feels a bit tighter and I have to press harder to get in all the way. Her head falls sideways slightly; her breathing is heavy and labored. I start moving my fingers in and out and soon it becomes easy. I push in as far as I can, trying to find that spot she found on me. I use my thigh to push against the back of my hand and go even deeper. As I pick up the pace and start thrusting a bit faster, my thumb slipping over her clit, she starts letting out short, breathy moans and gasps. "Ohh…"she sighs loudly as I push in. My wrist is aching by now but I don't care; it's worth it. I think of how amazing it felt when she curled her fingers inside me and I try it now. The tips of my fingers hook round at the highest place they can reach. She cries out, her head arching back into my pillows. I do it again on my next thrust and her leg rises to rest on my back, allowing me to push deeper, one more and she's clutching at me desperately, her jaw hanging open. "Uhh..._Santana_…" She pulls my face in to her neck as she breathes my name. I hold my fingers pressed up hard inside her, as far in as I can go, my thigh pushing hard between her legs. A second later she's coming against me, and I feel it around my hand. I keep rubbing her clit with my thumb, my fingers stroking inside of her, slowly coming to a stop. Eventually I withdraw them, wiping them on my _Spankies._ Her body goes limp, the backs of her arms falling over her eyes. I slowly roll off and lie next to her as she catches her breath.

The way she said my name echoes in my head. I've had sex with a lot of guys and occasionally they'll grunt out the word, Santana, as we're getting it on. It's never made me feel like this though. She said it differently, whispered it, almost. She said it like she meant it.

I glance over as she pulls her hands off her eyes, turning her head to look at me. She smiles a little. "That was fun," she says as though we just finished a friendly game of hide and seek. "You're really good at that, Santana." I look back at her stupidly, unable to think of anything to say. I don't know why, because guys tell me that all the time and I just brush it off with some smartass comment about how my skills in the bedroom are legendary. She sits up and turns away from me. She's reaching for her clothes.

"Will you stay?" I hear myself ask. Usually, in these situations I can't get away fast enough but for some reason I just really don't want her to leave. She turns and smiles at me.

"Sure."

I lend her some pajamas and pull my own on while she changes. I notice with some embarrassment how soaked my _Spankies_ are when I remove them. I stand beside her in front of my bathroom mirror as we remove our make-up. I strike up a conversation about how lame Quinn's celibacy club idea is and before you know it we're talking and giggling the way we always do, like nothing ever happened. And I mean, really, it's not a big deal. So we hooked up, who cares? I sleep with Puck all the time and it doesn't have to get all messy and complicated. So this shouldn't either.

I lift my sheets and crawl in under the blanket. A minute later she slides in beside me, after switching off the lamp on my nightstand. I cuddle up to her back like we always do and she pulls my hands around to her chest, clutching them between her own. One of my bare legs slides between hers, seeking comfort in her warmth. I smile as I close my eyes and snuggle into her hair. Her breathing gradually slows, and just before I fall asleep myself I can't help but press my lips once, softly to the back of her neck.


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days are completely exhausting because Coach is pushing us harder than ever for nationals. We spend the day before the competition packed into a bus for the best part of 8 hours before we finally reach the hotel we'll be staying in for two nights. I'll be rooming with Quinn and Brittany and as soon as we're into the room I run and throw my bag on the bed by the window, staking claim to it. Quinn just rolls her eyes as if she couldn't care less and flops down on the other bed. That leaves Brittany to sleep on the crappy fold out bed and I almost feel bad for a second. Well…whatever. She probably won't care.

We've essentially been left to our own devices because as soon as we arrived Coach stormed up to her own room – she's got the penthouse suite – threatening to personally end the life of any Cheerio foolish enough to disturb her at any point in the next twelve hours. I don't think the long trip on the stuffy coach agreed with her.

Quinn disappears into the bathroom and I collapse backwards on the bed, closing my eyes. My moment of peace only lasts a few seconds, however, because the next thing I know, something heavy and soft suddenly collides forcefully with my face. It doesn't hurt but it gives me the freakin' fright of my life and I just about have a heart attack.

"Got ya!"

I sit bolt upright and stare around wildly to see Brittany standing beside the bed, giggling at my reaction. She's holding one of the pillows from the other bed and I realize that's what she just smacked me in the face with.

"Jesus, Britt!" My heart's still pounding from the fright she gave me. Well. Two can play at that game. I grin and slowly reach behind me for my own pillow. I whirl it around as fast as I can and it crashes into the side of her head, catching her off guard. I laugh and jump off the bed, away from her, before she has a chance to recover and retaliate.

"Hey!" she shouts, springing after me. Soon, we're chasing each other round the room, jumping over the beds and laughing loudly as we try to get each other with the pillows. We're so distracted that we don't hear Quinn emerge from the bathroom.

"Will you two _cut it out?_" Her voice rings out loud and we turn to see her standing across the room, hands on her hips, looking sternly at us. "Tomorrow morning, we are going to be participating in our first _national_ cheerleading championship. The Cheerios have taken this competition for the past four years and I don't know about you two, but I'm not too willing to relinquish that title. We have a reputation to uphold, a responsibility. We should be resting in preparation. Now is not the time for _childish_ _pillow fights_."

We stare back at her, pillows dangling limply from our hands. Wow, on edge much? She makes a noise of exasperation at us before turning her back and searching through her bag. I exchange a look with Brittany behind her back. "Killjoy," she mouths and I stifle a laugh. I grin at her and step down from the bed, tossing my pillow back in place.

* * *

><p>"The McKinley High School Cheerios!"<p>

When they announce our victory I cheer and shout, jumping up and down like a little girl. I knew our win was pretty certain as soon as we finished our flawless routine, but now it was official. The other girls around me are celebrating just as loudly, hugging and giving each other high-fives. I'm so excited that I jump on Brittany, wrapping my legs around her waist. She laughs and whirls me around once before setting me back down. I even hug Quinn tightly, who reciprocates with enthusiasm. I see Sue Sylvester standing with both her arms up, taking in the applause, shouting something which sounds like "Yeah, that's right!" She holds up five fingers, shaking them at the crowd, which presumably represent her fifth consecutive win.

I'm still grinning stupidly when they bring out our trophy. Holy crap, it's _huge_. I've seen similar ones in Coach's office but now that I helped win this one, it seems much more significant. I never thought winning would make me feel so good; it's like this overwhelming sense of accomplishment. It's not like anything I've ever experienced before. I hear Brittany whooping and clapping beside me and I grin sideways. She catches my eye and beams back and in that instant everything feels perfect. I wouldn't trade this moment for anything.

Later, all the cheerios gather in the captain's room to celebrate. Coach has gone off somewhere to give interviews or something so we're pretty much free to do what we want. Of course, we've all snuck flasks full of vodka or gin or whatever else in our training bags, which we break out now.

The captain stands in front of the Cheerios grouped in the hotel room, sprawled over the beds and sitting cross-legged on the floor. She beams widely as she addresses us.

"Well girls, what can I say? Another year gone and we took the trophy as usual. Congratulations all round." She smirks, pausing slightly while we cheer and clap, before continuing. "Sadly though, I am a senior and this is my last year being in charge of you lovely ladies." There are a few protests and groans of dismay at this remark. "Before I move on, I just want to say what a pleasure it's been holding the position and hope you guys'll miss me just as much as I'll miss you!" It's a lie, I know she hates half the girls here. "I know however, that my replacement will do an _excellent_ job in taking over as head cheerleader and you'll all soon grow to love her." The other girls' ears prick up at this. "It is with pleasure that I hand over my captaincy to its youngest ever recipient." She smiles sweetly. "Quinn Fabray."

I'm not surprised in the slightest. It's exactly what I was expecting. And obviously, I'd rather it was me in her position, but realistically it never would have happened. I'm not blonde and perfect like her, with her jock boyfriend who she's ever so in love with. Gross. The situation doesn't come without its perks though. I'm already Quinn's right hand bitch so with her in charge I'll be second in command.

Everyone claps politely for Quinn and she smiles back gracefully. Some of the juniors look absolutely livid. I don't know why, I thought it was pretty obvious who Coach had picked to become captain. They must be completely stupid if they were hoping to hear their own name.

Once the excitement of the captain's revelation has died down, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed. We play stupid drinking games and chat about the competition earlier, not missing any opportunity to laugh about how crappy the other schools' routines were compared to ours.

After a couple of hours I'm feeling pretty damn tipsy and judging from the enthusiastic laughter and shouted conversations around me the other girls are feeling their drinks too. Some girl is pouring her heart out beside me, rambling on about how her football player boyfriend keeps blowing her off and what should she do and is she not pretty enough?

"I _know_ he loves me really though, he just isn't good at expressing it, y'know?" I'm only half listening but at this point I just lose my patience. I roll my eyes and turn to her, irritated.

"Oh please. He doesn't _love_ you. Wanna know how I know that? 'Cause me and him were totally getting it on in the back of his truck last week, after Dave Karofsky's house party. And y'know, it's funny, 'cause I'm pretty sure he didn't mention you once." I glare at her, arms crossed. "Get over it." Her mouth falls open and she looks like she's just been slapped.

I don't bother to wait around for her break down and get up, moving to the other side of the room to sit down cross-legged beside Brittany. "Totally," she's saying, "that's exactly what Lord Tubbington told me." I smile when I realize she's talking about her cat and hope, for her sake, that the other girls don't know that. I lean my head on her shoulder and listen to them bitch about how difficult the Spanish homework is. I try not to laugh as I remember the totally easy questions I did for Brittany the other day. As I lean into her side she lifts one hand, resting it on my thigh, tracing tiny patterns with her index finger. It's apparently a subconscious movement but I take notice immediately. Her hand feels so warm on my bare skin and I lose track of the conversation.

After a few moments her hand slides just a little higher up my leg, almost imperceptibly. I feel the change instantly though and my heart rate picks up. Normally I wouldn't think anything of such a small gesture but ever since that night at my house, I find myself reading into these little actions a lot more.

I feel myself getting a little warmer as her hand lingers in its intimate location. Ugh, this is stupid, really. The only reason I'm reacting this way is because what with nationals coming up I've been far too busy to get any kind of action lately. Since Britt and I hooked up I've only been to Puck's once and that was days ago. Plus when I'm drunk I get horny and I start craving a warm body underneath me. If this was any other situation I would find the nearest football player to crawl on top of, but as it happens I'm in a room full of girls and Puck's all the way back in Lima.

Making a decision, I wait until one of the other girls is talking and I lean over to whisper quietly to Brittany. "Meet me back in our room in five minutes." I stand, giving her a subtle wink when she turns to look at me. It registers and she smiles back and nods. I slip out, fairly sure my exit goes unnoticed by the room of slightly drunk Cheerios.

Once out in the hallway I walk swiftly down the corridor and into the room I'm sharing with Brittany and Quinn. Before I left I saw Quinn engaged in deep conversation with the team captain so I'm not too worried about her walking in on anything.

I step into the bathroom and check my reflection. I look hot, as usual. I pull my ponytail free and let my hair fall loose around my shoulders, shaking it out. I hear the door open and step out of the bathroom to meet Britt. She shuts the door, locking it behind her. "Hey," she says quietly. I say nothing, just smirk and move to my bed. She follows without a word.

I sit on the side of the bed and she stops in front of me. Slowly she places one knee on either side of my hips and settles to sit on my lap. She tugs her hair free and shakes her head so it tumbles over one shoulder. And I have to admit, she looks pretty hot doing it. I lean back a little, extending my arms behind me and resting my weight on them. She slides her hands onto my shoulders and watches my lips as she leans in to press her first kiss to them. My head reels as I feel that familiar softness once more. She tastes like watermelon today. We kiss for a minute or so, her hands rising to stroke my hair back. She sighs when my tongue slips into her mouth and she shuffles closer so she's sitting directly on my hips. Her body presses against mine and I'm aware of her body heat invading my senses and making my entire body hum. I lean forward a bit and my hand comes around to hold her close, applying pressure on her lower back. Eventually I move it down so I'm pulling her hips into mine and she grinds down into me, creating a delicious surge between my thighs.

A few moments later I break away from her and she leans back a little, allowing me to reach forward and pull the zipper down on her top. We're both a little breathless. Her hands go up in the air and she waits for me. I grip the material and slide it gently up her body, over her chest and then her long arms until I can finally drop it on the floor behind her. She's wearing a pink bra which my eyes, then my hands roam over, feeling her soft breasts through the rough material and squeezing lightly. She reaches behind her to take it off and tosses it to the side, revealing her pink nipples, right in my face. An idea comes to me and I pause for a second before moving forward and licking one of them. She lets out a small noise of surprise then giggles and hums in appreciation as I close my mouth over it, sucking and kissing until it's completely hard. I'm glad because I had no idea if she would like that or not. She arches her back so her chest pushes into me and I slide my hands up and down her bare sides, enjoying the smooth texture of her toned body.

Suddenly she pulls my head from her chest and I look up, wondering why she stopped me. She's removing my Cheerios top, tugging the zipper down and pulling it over my head, and I help her out when I realize her intentions. She unclasps my black bra immediately, dragging it over my arms and off. She leans down to kiss me fervently and I wrap my arms around her back, bringing our bare chests together. Her breasts rub against mine, creating warm friction and making my skin tingle. As her tongue moves in my mouth she lowers us both to the bed and her kisses start trailing lower. She slides down me and her mouth finds my breast, then my nipple, doing the same thing I was doing to her just a minute ago. I have to refrain from gasping loudly; her mouth feels so warm and wet, and when her tongue flicks over the tip of my nipple it feels amazing, the sensation going straight to the now aching place between my legs. Her hair tickles me as it slides over my bare chest and as she works away I can't help but lift my hips, pushing hard against her stomach. I want her to touch me so bad.

I pull her back up by her arms to face me and I roll us over so we're both on our sides. I slide one of my legs between hers, entwining our bodies and pressing it against her as I lean in to connect our mouths once more. A second later I just can't take it anymore and I grab her hand, guiding it under my skirt, silently asking for what I've wanted this whole time. My hand releases hers then immediately slides up her inner thigh, pressing into her through her _Spankies_. "Mmmph…" she moans into my mouth, her kisses faltering slightly and then she starts reciprocating my actions, massaging through the thin material. I'm so wet I can feel the red fabric sliding against me and becoming soaked through and I can tell it's the same for her.

I get more worked up as we start moving faster and our hips are moving back and forth, into each others hands. I become hot all over and a thin layer of sweat has formed on my skin. We take the next step at the same time, both of us quickly tugging the _Spankies_ down a few inches to get direct access. My hand meets her hot, wet flesh just as I feel her touch me fully, properly for the first time and I gasp out loud at the sensation. I rub my palm roughly over her, pressing into her clit and she does the same to me. We're both breathing too hard to keep kissing now and my forehead falls against her neck as I pant into her hot, damp skin. I'm getting close now and I desperately push two fingers up into her, still rocking my palm against her clit. She cries out and I hear myself let loose a high-pitched moan when she enters me too. I force my hips down onto her hand, wanting to feel her deep inside me, just as I press up as hard as I can with my own fingers. She pulls our bodies even closer together, our arms firmly trapped between us. We mirror each others motions, rocking our hands up and down, fingers straining to get deeper, push harder. I curve my wrist, my fingers thrusting right in and I feel her jaw drop open. Her muscles clench around my hand and she releases a desperate gasp, her free hand on my shoulder tightening its grip as she reaches her climax. The sound sets me off and an intense pleasure fires through me, spreading from where she's forcing her hand up into me, hard. "Unhhh, Britt…" I groan into her collarbone as my orgasm washes over me, sending shivers all down my legs. We continue with frantic motions, pushing ourselves against each other again and again. Gradually our motions get slower and eventually come to a halt completely.

I slump against her, drained of all energy. If I was drunk before then I'm definitely sober now.

Eventually my breathing slows and I regain the ability to move my muscles. I remove my hand and carefully wind both my arms under hers, pulling us close and burrowing my face in her soft skin. She moves her own arms up and cradles my head, pulling me in to her chest.

I've never been one for cuddling after sex…I always just get it done and get out of there. But Britt isn't just some dumb guy, she's my best friend. We do this all the time. It's not like it means anything significant. It occurs to me now that of all the people I've hooked up with, she's the only one I actually kind of _like, _even just as a friend. I don't really bother getting to know any of the others before going to bed with them. So it's totally natural that I'd want to snuggle with her for a bit afterwards, even if it's not usually my style. Whatever.

We lie there for a while, just holding each other. I breathe in her scent and I feel so comfortable and relaxed; I wish I could just fall asleep right now like this. We're still sharing the room with Quinn though and it might be slightly awkward if we're lying like this when she comes in. After a few minutes have passed I reluctantly lift my head and withdraw my arms. Sensing my movement, she releases me and we both sit up. I don't bother reaching for my Cheerios top and instead grab my pajamas. I'm exhausted now and there's no way I'm going back to socialize with the others. Brittany wanders over to her stuff and gets ready for bed too. We still haven't spoken a word but it doesn't feel awkward.

I emerge from the bathroom and get into bed and I see Brittany climbing into that tiny fold out bed and now I do feel bad.

"Hey Britt…" She looks round at me. "That doesn't look very comfortable…why don't you come in here with me?" I pat the sheets beside me and smile. She beams and jumps onto the bed beside me, sliding her legs under the blanket. "Just don't go stealing all the covers, okay?" I grin before reaching over and switching off the light. We curl up together and it's not long before I feel myself nodding off in her arms.

An hour or so later I'm woken up by Quinn bursting in. I hear her curse when she realizes we must have already gone to bed. I hear her kick her shoes off and she moves into the room to grab her stuff. She doesn't notice that I'm awake and I see her smile to herself when she sees us cuddled up together, Brittany spooned around my back, sleeping peacefully. "Too cute," she mutters before turning her back and getting ready for bed herself.


	7. Chapter 7

A couple of weeks later the buzz of winning nationals has worn off a little and things at school are back to normal. Well, pretty much, the only difference is that there's no Cheerios practice now, which comes as a blissful relief. We get just a few short weeks where we don't have to drag ourselves to Coach's rigorous training sessions and then it's summer. And with summer comes Sue Sylvester's annual cheer camp, which I'm _really_ not looking forward to. I've already heard the horror stories from the older Cheerios.

One day I'm standing at my locker grabbing some books for my English class and Brittany appears beside me. She's gripping a white plastic container which is sealed shut and she glances around furtively before starting to open her locker.

"Hey, Britt-Britt. What's in the box?" I ask, closing my own locker and leaning over to peer at the object in her arms.

"Worms," she says casually, opening the lid. I recoil in horror when I find out she's not lying. Inside the box is a sprinkling of dirt and several _live_ earthworms. Writhing about. Oh my god, that is so gross.

"What the _hell_, Brittany?" I stare in horror down at the creatures in the box. "Why have you brought a box of freakin' _worms_ to school?"

"They're food," she says happily, oblivious to my disgust. _What?_ I gape at her.

"Britt, you can't eat worms!" I've heard my best friend say and do some pretty weird stuff but this is like, a new low.

"I know," she scoffs. "Please. I'm not stupid. They're not for me." I frown, still eyeing the box warily.

"Well if they're not for you then…?" I trail off.

"Look." She glances around again before opening her locker. I sniff the air and scrunch my nose.

"Ew. Something smells totally gross. Please tell me that's not coming from in here..." We both lean in and I peer into the locker. There's a shoebox at the back, which she reaches for, lifting the lid. There's a sudden flurry of activity from within and I almost jump back in fright. Flapping around inside the box there's a small, brown bird. A bird. A freaking _bird._ Oh my god, what has she done?

I look on, transfixed in horror as she picks up one of the wriggling worms and drops it into the shoebox with the terrified looking creature. It's not very big, just a garden bird and one of its wings looks injured, its feathers sticking up in the wrong places.

"I found him in the parking lot the other day when I was on my way to motocross practice after school. I couldn't just leave him there; he was hurt. So I'm keeping him here until he's all better." She beams. "Isn't he cute?" She strokes the bird's back gently with the back of her index finger.

"Britt…" I begin, then trail off, not knowing where to begin. This explains the smell.

"In picture books they always have birds eating worms out the ground," she continues, "so I went outside after it rained yesterday to find these. I bet the little guy's super hungry." She smiles down at the shoebox like a little girl. I soften a little.

After a few moments she closes the box and tucks it away at the back of her locker, after murmuring a goodbye. She shuts the door and turns to me.

"Will you promise you won't tell anyone, Santana? I showed you 'cause we're best friends and all, but apart from that, he's a secret, okay?" She looks at me sincerely.

"Oh yeah totally," I say, nodding. "I won't tell a soul, Britt," I assure her, before turning around and heading straight for Principal Figgins' office.

I mean, I feel bad and all 'cause she obviously means well but she can't just keep a live freakin' bird in her locker. It's totally gross, not to mention probably against all kinds of animal rights laws. I shake my head in disbelief. Thank god I found out now before it made a mess all over her books. Jeez, what was she _thinking_? Sometimes I wonder what planet that girl is from.

* * *

><p>In the end Brittany has to give up the bird and there's a big scene in the hallway when some guy comes to safely remove it. She doesn't get in trouble for it but Figgins calls her parents and also insists that she spend some time with the guidance counselor, Miss Pillsbury. After the whole thing has blown over we're lying on my bed, discussing the incident.<p>

"You have to admit, Britt, that was one of your crazier stunts," I laugh.

"I know now that what I did was wrong and while I was only trying to help I should have contacted a responsible adult to assess the situation before attempting to handle it myself," she says robotically. Obviously her sessions with the clean-freak have left an impression. She furrows her brow in confusion. "I just don't understand how they found out, though. He always kept quiet and I made sure to hide him away all the time." I roll my eyes at her back.

"Yeah, I wonder who could have told. It's a mystery," I say before getting up and wandering to my vanity desk to sit down. "Want to fix my hair for me? Y'know…to take your mind off it and all." She smiles and comes to stand behind me.

"Thanks, Santana. You're such a good friend."


	8. Chapter 8

Freshman year ends and summer arrives in what feels like no time at all. Cheer camp starts and it's just as bad as we've heard, if not worse. We have to be there at nine in the morning, which would be a relief from the six a.m. starts during term-time, except it's _all_ day, _every_ day. Well, except Sunday. But now Sundays are spent lying around at home, nursing aching muscles and dreading Monday morning. My social life has pretty much gone out the window; I haven't been to a party in weeks, it's tragic. The only comfort in that is that neither have any of the other Cheerios, so I don't need to worry about missing out. God knows what the football players do to entertain themselves for the first month of summer each year.

Every day I come home, dump my cheer bag at the door and drag myself upstairs to shower. Then I collapse into my bed with a Sylvester-approved meal and stare at whatever's on the TV until I fall asleep. Which usually happens pretty fast.

Puck keeps texting me asking me when I'm next coming over and I get them in the morning when I wake up, before rushing to get ready and out the house. By the time I get back I've forgotten all about them and frankly, I probably couldn't drag myself over there if I tried. Frankly, I'm starting to lose my patience with that boy; he acts like he owns me and can just get it when he wants. He should count himself _lucky_ that he even had the chance to get all up on this in the first place. I don't just sleep with_ anyone _you know…even if it maybe seems that way. Not more than once anyway. Sex with Santana Lopez isn't a right; it's a privilege, which has to be _earned_. And he would do well to remember it.

Still, I gots to get me some action somewhere if I'm not getting it from Puck and by the time the end of cheer camp rolls around I'm getting pretty antsy. I still want to punish him though, so instead of going over to his I ask Brittany to stay the night after the last day of camp. It's the toughest day of the whole damn month and we come back to mine sweaty and tired, but feeling pretty liberated nonetheless.

I invite her to shower before me then immediately sneak in after, climbing in beside her and taking her by surprise. I'm not too worried about her rejecting me because frankly, that girl is easier than I am. She probably wouldn't know how to say no even if she wanted to.

I've never done it the shower before, but let me tell you, it's pretty freakin' hot. Our hands run all over each other's bodies, made easy by the warm water flowing between us. She turns me so I'm facing the wall and kisses my neck, sliding her hands all over my front. When they trail down and her fingers finally sink into me I have to brace myself with both hands against the wall so I don't collapse just from how damn good it feels. And when I come I feel a whole month's worth of pent up sexual frustration leave me in just a few blissful moments. I'm so spent I have to rest for a few minutes before I can flip her round and return the favor.

When we're all done we drift back into my room and fall into bed, ready to sleep for a week.

I'm still mad at Puck so for the next couple of weeks Britt kind of becomes my go-to gal for sexual favors while I'm withholding it from him. I mean, obviously I could just find some other guy…but I like it this way better 'cause it means he doesn't find out I'm getting it somewhere else. And it's so convenient. We hang out all the time anyway, whether we're laid out on sun loungers in the back garden during the day or curled up in bed watching movies at night. It's pretty much whenever I want it, I can get it. It's awesome.

We don't see too much of Quinn over the summer. She's no doubt off planning schemes to put in place next year when she's head Cheerio, or working on her relationship with Finnocence. They were going through a rough patch for a while when she found some dirty magazines under his mattress. She broke up with him for two weeks. Personally I'm shocked she was even in his bedroom in the first place.

I realize that I'm going to have to forgive Puck sooner or later, so I eventually jump back into his bed after a few weeks of starving him. I mean, it was fun for a while but I don't want him to lose interest in me and find some new girl to entertain him. I still need him to boost my rep after all.

"So, miss me?" I smirk as I stand in his bedroom door, leaning against the frame. He grins from where he's sitting playing his X-box on his bed.

"You have no idea," he says as he leans forward and pulls me to him by my waist.

Of course the sex isn't as physically satisfying as it is with Britt, but there're certainly some things I've missed. I love that feeling of power I get when he grips my waist underneath me as he comes, or when I tease him and he begs for it. It's so easy to make him beg. And besides, Brittany's going off on vacation with her family for the last few weeks of the summer break so she won't be around to keep me busy.

A few days before she leaves we're lounging about in my room and I get a text saying that Matt Rutherford's throwing a party tonight. I'm relieved; there haven't been nearly enough of them over the summer. It seems everyone's going off on vacation or getting a stupid job and working. We get ready at my place, for once having the chance to wear something other than our Cheerios uniforms. After that month of cheer camp I almost never want to see the damn thing again.

We show up together and it looks like the party's already started when we arrive. Thank god; there's nothing more awkward than arriving early to a party and making small talk with the host. It's not as busy as these things usually are but there's still a decent crowd of people milling around inside. I head straight for the drinks table. It's been too long.

A few hours later, I find myself sitting on the kitchen counter with Brittany by my side. Puck and Mike Chang are standing opposite us, beers in hand. We've all been drinking for a while now and the conversation flows fast and easy. I don't even know what we're talking about half the time. I think the current topic of discussion is Puck's new pool-cleaning business. He's bragging about all the money he's made and all the old ladies he's tapped. Maybe he's trying to make me jealous after my period of absence from his bed. If so it's just tragic.

"Hey, Chang! Heads up!" Dave Karofsky throws a football into the kitchen which narrowly misses my head. And it's a good thing too, for his sake, I think as I glare into the living room. Mike catches it smoothly and I'm almost impressed. He laughs and wanders away to play catch or something, leaving just the three of us in the kitchen. Puck leans forward and runs his hand up my thigh.

"Guess it's just me and you, ladies." I look down and notice his other hand is on Brittany's leg. I raise my eyebrows.

"Yeah. Guess so," I say neutrally. He continues to makes casual conversation for a few minutes, all the while rubbing his hands slowly up and down our thighs, like he's trying to be subtle or something. I half listen to the way he's trying to charm us and keep an eye on Brittany's reactions. She doesn't seem remotely fazed by the way he's feeling her up; in fact if anything, she seems to be enjoying the attention. I turn back and smile and nod along with what Puck's saying.

Eventually he leans in secretively and makes his move.

"So, girls, what do you say the three of us ditch and go have some real fun at my place?" He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. Brittany giggles. She knows exactly what he's suggesting. I don't know how she's so spaced out all the time but weirdly perceptive when it comes to sex. I fold my arms and regard him skeptically.

"What about your family?"

"On vacation. I got out of it 'cause I have to clean pools," he replies immediately. "C'mon, it'll be fun. I won't tell anyone; it can be our secret." Well I highly doubt that's true but that's not the point. I turn to Britt to gauge her opinion on the matter. She's smiling at me expectantly. Seems she's all for it. I shrug.

"Fine. Let's go then." I jump off the counter, stumbling a little when I land. I'm not sure I would be making this decision so lightly if I were sober but as it happens I'm quite drunk and it seems like a pretty capital idea to me. We head out the house and start walking to his place. He only lives a couple of streets over so it won't take long. He continues to brag about something or other and Brittany and I follow along behind him, pinkies linked.

After a few minutes we arrive at his house. He gets out his keys and fumbles with the lock before opening the door onto a dark hallway. I guess his family really is on vacation. He hands us a couple of wine coolers before leading us upstairs. I'm not sure why he's trying to get us drunk; we're pretty wasted already and we're here with him now aren't we?

As we reach his bedroom he flicks on the lamp by his bed and sits down. Only now do I get a slight feeling of unease. I've never done this before. I mean, I've had sex with more people than I can count but never two at the same time. I'm not even entirely sure how this is gonna work. Like, I know how to do it with Britt and I'm certainly familiar with how to get it on with Puck but when there're three of us involved…well I'm not too sure what the procedure is. I sip my drink nervously. Suddenly I feel a hand on my lower back. It's Brittany and her soft touch is reassuring. She's smiling at me and I grin back, forgetting all my anxiety.

I walk forward and sit by Puck on the bed, draping my legs over his lap and placing a hand on his shoulder. Brittany follows me and sits on his other side, mirroring my position. He turns to me first, leaning in and kissing me, while keeping his hand on her leg, nearly up her skirt. His mouth is hot and tastes like beer. His stubble scrapes at my chin. Then he turns and leans in to kiss Brittany, while moving his hand around my side to cup my breast. I barely even feel it as I watch, strangely transfixed, as they make out in front of me. Some of that feeling of unease creeps into my throat again as they continue. He'd better not be rough with her. He'd better be nice or he'll have me to deal with. I tell myself we'll leave if at any point she's not into it. She seems to be fine though, as she smiles into the kiss, winding a hand round the back of his head.

After a couple more moments he turns back to me, pushing his tongue into my mouth. Suddenly he emits a low grunt and his hand on my breast squeezes tightly, almost painfully. I open my eyes a little and I realize with some surprise that Brittany's hand has snaked in between his legs and she's massaging him expertly through his jeans. I don't know why I'm surprised. She's never been shy with me so why should Puck be any exception?

He's pulling away now and standing up while he unbuttons his pants, pulling his zipper down. When he yanks his jeans off there's a noticeable bulge in his boxers. While he's been busy undressing himself Brittany has shifted herself closer to me and she's trailing her fingertips over my arm seductively. It makes the tiny hairs on my skin stand on end and I shiver slightly. I realize what she's getting at and I pull her in to kiss me as Puck stands, watching. She doesn't even compare to him. Her lips taste like apple and her skin is so smooth. I slip my tongue into her mouth almost immediately, my hands pressing gently on either side of her neck. She reaches forward and slides her hands under the front of my thin jacket, starting to push it off my shoulders. I hold my arms back to help her, keeping my mouth on hers.

"Holy crap, this is so hot," Puck observes from in front of us as my jacket slides off. I'd practically forgotten he was there. We break apart as he comes to sit between us. He starts kissing Brittany again and I briefly wonder which one of us she prefers. Then I wonder why I even care.

His hands wander to her shirt and start slowly undoing each button. Alarm shoots through me at the sight and for some reason I have a bizarre urge to stop him. I mean, I know she does this all the time and I'm well aware of what she gets up to with boys...but there's something about seeing your best friend have her shirt removed by some guy that makes you kind of uncomfortable. I guess I'm just being protective, y'know, looking out for her and all.

Her shirt falls to the floor, revealing her light blue bra, which he immediately grabs at, a little too roughly for my liking.

"Alright, that's enough," I mutter angrily. They both turn and look at me in surprise. Wow. I feel a bit awkward now. "Santana wants some lovin'!" I say huffily to cover up the real reason for my outburst. They smile in a weirdly similar way. Britt stands and wriggles out of her shorts before crawling onto the middle of the bed. She leans forward and slowly pulls the zipper down on my dress, so it easily falls off me. Puck tugs off his shirt and suddenly we're all just sitting there in our underwear. It's kind of surreal. I take a deep breath and mentally shake myself to rid my mind of any apprehension. This isn't weird. For god's sake, it's just Puck and Brittany. Both of whom I regularly fool around with. Just because they're both here now there's no reason to freak out. It's totally fine.

I smile wickedly, feeling more confident now that I've gotten over my weirdness. The alcohol in my system helps. I kneel in the middle of the bed with Puck in front of me, who leans in again, hands groping at my waist. I feel Brittany crawl over behind me and start running her hands over my shoulders. She bends her head to kiss and suck at my neck, her breasts and stomach pressing warmly into my back. I resist the urge to spin around and kiss her back and keep my lips on Puck's. I tug his lower lip between my teeth and he grinds into me, his dick pressing firmly into my skin through his underwear. Behind me I feel Brittany unhook my bra, easing it off my arms and tossing it aside. Her small hands slide between us and run over my bare breasts and I sigh before I can stop myself. It's so strange having Puck, rough and hard in front of me, at the same time as Britt, soft and careful at my back.

Her fingers slide down to my underwear but before she can slip them inside, I still her hand. I don't want him to see her touching me like _that_. That's private.

Instead, I pull back a little and yank down _his_ underwear, leaving him completely naked. He seems surprised but doesn't protest, simply pushing his boxers off the rest of the way. Brittany's lips are on my earlobe, and her hands are at my breasts, rubbing gently at my nipples. Puck's eyes widen at the sight. "Holy…" is all he gets out. She pinches my nipples and I moan quietly. I would be embarrassed if it didn't feel so damn good.

Puck looks like he's about to start drooling, so I reach down and take his dick in my hand, rubbing it the way I know how to. I do it before Brittany can. I don't know why exactly but the thought of her touching him there makes me feel weird. I want her touching _me_. He seems to come to his senses and pushes his hand into my underwear to return the favor, before kissing me again. His fingers are big and clumsy and before I know it I find myself wishing for Brittany's skilled ones instead. I try to lose myself in the way he's touching me and it starts feeling kind of good. Especially when combined with the way Brittany's hands are working at my breasts and her hips are grinding into my lower back. Her tongue licks at my ear and I can hear her quickened breathing.

He's panting and I can tell he's not going to last much longer. I rub harder and a low noise escapes his throat. I can tell he doesn't want it this way, he wants real sex. It's not happening though; not while Britt's here. I don't want her seeing that. It's...humiliating, somehow.

When he comes he shoves two fingers into me. It catches me off guard a bit, but it's the roughness I'm used to with Puck and I feel my own orgasm hit me. It's nothing fantastic but its better than he usually gives me. I guess having an extra pair of hands doesn't hurt. He goes to the bathroom to clean himself up after pecking me roughly on the cheek.

I turn to Brittany. Now that Puck's out of the room I do what I've been wanting to the whole time she was behind me. I pull her close into me and kiss her deeply, on the lips. She giggles softly and reciprocates with just as much enthusiasm. I don't want Puck to walk back in and see this so I quickly slip my hand into her underwear and start touching her. She's so wet and my fingers slide over her clit easily. I move them faster and she moans into my mouth, hips pressing into my motions. I can tell this won't take long. Thankfully. I slide my fingers into her, thumb still rubbing her clit. I curl them inside her and soon she's gasping, gripping me tightly like she always does when she comes.

I'm just wiping my fingers off when Puck comes back into the room in his boxers. Just in time. It was rushed but at least she wasn't left completely unsatisfied.

"So ladies, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. I know I did." He grins. "Will you be staying the night? Feel free." I smile sweetly as I put my bra back on.

"Thanks, Puckerman, but I don't do sleepovers. Not with you anyway," I say, smirking at Brittany as we pull our clothes back on.

"I get it. No boys allowed." He winks. "You girls have fun without me." I roll my eyes.

If only he knew what went on while he was in the bathroom.


	9. Chapter 9

A few days later I'm bored at home so I text Brittany, telling her to come to the mall with me. I flop down on my bed while I wait for her to come over but after a few minutes my phone buzzes. It's her, saying she can't because she's gone away with her family. Ugh, crap, I totally forgot about her stupid trip. What the hell am I meant to do now? I could call Quinn but I don't really feel like being around Little Miss Perfect today. Plus whenever we go shopping she just spends hours trying on all these girly little cardigans and dresses that make her look like a Sunday school teacher and I never have any time to get anything for _me._ I can't go to Puck's because he works during the day. I sigh, resigned and turn on my TV. Who knew my life would be so boring without Britt.

The next few weeks drag on and I somehow manage not to die of boredom. I get my driving license and as a reward my dad buys me a car. I drive it everywhere I go, even when I don't need to, but soon I'm bored with it too. I realize with some dread that Cheerios practice will be starting up again soon and make some feeble attempts to prepare my body for the oncoming torture, going for a run or working out every now and then. In the evenings I head to Puck's, mainly for lack of anything better to do.

One night, after we're all finished up and I'm pulling my skirt back on he turns to look at me from the bed.

"So," he says conversationally, "you and I have been doing the nasty for quite some time now. Why don't we just make it official?" I pause and turn to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Official?"

"Y'know." He shrugs. "You and me. We should like, start dating." I turn back to putting my clothes on, considering his words. I don't date people. It's boring. And why is Puck suddenly asking me this now? He must need me for something. I smirk to myself. He probably wants to look like a stud in front of the rest of the football team, dating the hottest chick in the school. I think about his offer. He _is_ by far the finest guy on that team, maybe even in the whole school. And his badass attitude could definitely do things for my own reputation. I sigh, turning to him.

"I suppose so." He grins, placing his hands behind his head.

"Sweet," he says.

"I'll see you around." I smirk, and blow him a kiss before turning on my heel and walking out the door.

Dating Puck isn't so bad. For the rest of the summer he takes me along to his little get-togethers with the guys, draping me over his arm. There are bonfires where all the football players park their trucks in a circle around the fire and drink beer while they shout and laugh together. I just sit there smiling and looking hot until Puck needs me to make out in the back of his car.

I still wish Brittany was around though. Why the hell did she have to disappear for so long? What could possibly be so important for her to ditch me by myself in this crappy town for three whole weeks? Selfish of her, really.

The beginning of school rolls around and before I know it I'm a sophomore. A few girls who tried out last year manage to make the Cheerios this time around and Coach throws us all straight in at the deep end. It's back to six o'clock starts and running laps all morning.

The first thing Quinn does with her new power as head cheerleader is make us all join her damn celibacy club. Actually, the Cheerios are the only girls in it. Finn signs up on Quinn's orders and a few other guys follow, Puck included. I somehow manage to take my vow of celibacy and keep a straight face. All we do there is play dumb celibacy games and laugh about how fun it is to tease the boys. And sure, sometimes it doesn't hurt to tantalize them a little but at the end of the day I'm still giving it up to Puck. Hell, Quinn's the only girl in the club who _isn't_ putting out. Sucks for Finn.

A few weeks into the new term Quinn loses it 'cause she finds out Finn has joined the Glee club.

"Then he said he _had_ to join because he needs the extra credit." She's practically hysterical. Brittany and I sit on her bed watching as she paces back and forth in front of us. To be perfectly honest I just find the whole situation kind of amusing. It's so ironic that she only started dating that idiot in the first place so she could use his popularity and then he goes and joins the lamest club in the school. We even found him hanging out with Berry the other day.

The next day, Coach Sylvester calls Quinn and I to her office so we can report back our observations of the other Cheerios. She has us spy on them then tell her who's been sneaking candy bars when she's not looking.

"…_and_ she's been cutting corners on her laps too," I say, relishing the words as I tell her about the junior who's not been pulling her weight.

"Disappointing." She shakes her head in disgust as she scribbles notes, Quinn and I exchanging a smirk. Suddenly she stops. "Is that _music?_" We stare at her blankly.

"I don't hear anything, Coach Syl-" She cuts Quinn off, batting a hand at her.

"I have bat-like hearing." She whips off her glasses and stands, making her way out into the corridor. We rush to get up and scurry after her. As we walk towards the auditorium I hear it; singing and music coming from inside.

Coach stands on the balcony, looking down at the stage where the Glee club are dancing around and belting out a rendition of "Don't Stop Believing." We move to stand behind her, taking in the sight below us. I see Finn down there, twirling around with that hobbit and glance at Quinn. She looks distraught as she watches her boyfriend grinning like an idiot. I look at Coach who seems furious at what she's seeing. I know she harbors a deep resentment for all other extra-curricular programs at McKinley. She says they should all be cut so the Cheerios budget can be maximized. I turn my attention back to the stage. Personally I don't give a crap what the Glee club gets up to. I'd never admit this out loud but I actually think they sound kind of good. Maybe that's why Coach feels threatened. She'd hate it if Figgins started taking money from her to give to an arts program.

Sure enough, after practice the next morning she tells us to send Will Schuester to her office. We find him flirting with that ginger guidance counselor and it's super gross. Quinn gives him the message and we walk off, away from the nauseating pair. She starts complaining about Finn again and how Man-hands is trying to seduce him away from her through music. Is she seriously getting jealous over that midget?

"You know, Q, this whole problem could be solved in a heartbeat if you'd just give it up to Finn. RuPaul would be no threat to you at all if you'd just open your legs for him." I smirk. She gives me a dirty look.

"I took a vow." I roll my eyes. So did I but God didn't strike _me_ down when I was screwing Puck in the back of his truck last night.

"Look, Finn may follow you around like a lost puppy, but even he's not going to stick around for much longer if you keep refusing to let him past first base. And even a freak like Berry has a chance if she's willing to be less of a prude than you." She huffs and rolls her eyes. "Well," I continue, "assuming he's straight that is. Now he's joined the Glee club, seems no one's very sure anymore." I smile sweetly. She throws me a furious look before spying Finn at his locker and storming over to him. I laugh to myself and leave her to fume at him in an undertone while Berry eavesdrops.

For some bizarre reason the hobbit joins the celibacy club. I must admit, it's quite entertaining watching Quinn seethe as she goes on about how celibacy doesn't work in high schools. Well duh, Man-hands, you think that's news to the rest of us?

At the end of the week we're all gathered to the assembly hall to watch the Glee club perform. Unfortunately attendance is compulsory. I watch with some amusement as Mr. Shuester addresses us, telling us how Glee club is gonna rule McKinley. Okay, maybe in like, the fifties when he was at school here, but certainly not now. Especially not while Sue Sylvester is around. The curtain opens on the Glee club – all six of them – and they start up with "Push It" by Salt–N–Pepa. I raise my eyebrows. Really? They're doing _this_ song?

I watch on with a mixture of disgust and horror as the performance continues and those losers stomp around in some lame attempt to be sexy. I would laugh if I wasn't so freaked out. By the end of the song Berry is literally on top of Finn, bouncing up and down. Wow. Maybe Quinn wasn't so wrong about them after all. At the end there's a tense silence. Then, next thing I know everybody's screaming in approval. What the hell? I must have missed something, 'cause that whole thing was just _wrong._

That night, Quinn calls an emergency meeting of the Unholy Trinity. We're in her room and Britt and I sit on her bed while she stands before us, hands on her hips. She takes a deep breath.

"We need to join the Glee club," she says, matter-of-factly. My eyes widen and my finger goes up, stopping her.

"Um, pause. We need to _what now?_" She rolls her eyes impatiently. I stare back at her incredulously.

"I have no _choice_. You were at that pep assembly; you saw how she was all over _my_ boyfriend. You wouldn't stand back and do nothing if it was Puck on that stage, would you?" She takes a step closer and stands in front of the bed, leaning forward and glaring down at me. She's right, but then again Puck would never have joined that lame club in the first place. "We're doing this. And you'd do well not to question me, Santana; I am head cheerleader after all. And we wouldn't want Coach Sylvester to find out about all your little trips to Breadstix, _would_ we now?" Damn it. She's got me there. At some point every week I force Puck to take me out and buy me dinner at the restaurant. It's a good way of keeping him on his toes and I can't get enough of those bread sticks but they're definitely not allowed according to Sue Sylvester's strict dietary regime.

"Fine," I relent, throwing my hands up. "But as soon as Finn quits, I'm out." She stands up straight with a satisfied smile.

"Good. I suppose we'd better start working on our song for the audition, then."

Quinn chooses to audition with "I Say A Little Prayer," which is just typical. Trust her to pick a song to do with praying. We spend the weekend rehearsing and come Monday we're standing in the choir room, trying out for the damn Glee club. I can't believe I'm doing this. Brittany's joining because I am, and the two of us stand by Quinn's sides in front of Mr. Schuester. We perform the song and he smiles and claps for us, saying of course we can join. Like he doesn't need us to make up numbers anyway.

Almost immediately afterwards we're called into Coach Sylvester's office. I hadn't considered how she might react before signing up and I'm kind of scared. However, she seems pleased and recruits us as spies to bring down the club from within. I smile. This is going to be fun.


	10. Chapter 10

Over the next couple of weeks we dutifully show up to all the Glee club meetings, laying low before putting our first scheme in place. I guess all the singing and dancing's not _too_ bad but having to put up with that troll Berry all the time makes the whole experience unbearable. Eventually once the rest of the club is used to having us around we implement our first plan. We convince the dwarf that in order to place at Regionals the Glee club will need to enlist the help of Dakota Stanley, the coach of our rival school's show choir, Vocal Adrenaline. What she doesn't know about is his reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness to rival Sue Sylvester's. She caves easily and as soon as she hints that Schuester's choreography is less than perfect he's running for the hills, afraid to keep teaching us for fear that his ego may be bruised further. He gives us the go ahead to hire Dakota Stanley and everything seems to be working out just fine. It doesn't look like the Glee club will last for very much longer.

We report back to Coach Sylvester and she praises our efforts so far. She then directs us to individually target members of the Glee club so that it will crumble even faster. Easy.

First we pick on that wannabe diva, Mercedes. When I'm macking on Puck in the hallway I see her staring longingly at us – it's kind of creepy – and I have an idea. I know she's always hanging with that hopeless closet case, Kurt Hummel, and she's obviously pathetically desperate, so it shouldn't be too hard to push her towards him a little. I grab Quinn and tell her my plan and she smiles deviously. We flank Aretha, all smiles and friendliness and tell her to go after him. As I suspected, she doesn't take much convincing once we hint that he might be into her. Seriously, this is too easy.

Meanwhile, Puck has been driving me up the wall. He's stopped taking me to Breadstix, claiming he can't afford it, when I _know_ it's because he spent all his pool-cleaning money on new X-box games. As if that isn't bad enough, he's constantly complaining about not getting enough action ever since I joined the Glee club. He's getting possessive again. When I see his appalling credit score it's the last straw. I break up with him immediately, making sure to do it in public so people will know _I_ dumped _him._ I'll be glad to be rid of him and his stupid haircut for a while; he was getting pretty boring. Plus there's a cute junior who I've been making out with under the bleachers who I happen to know is loaded. He won't be too cheap to buy me jewelry and take me out for my sticks.

We pay Carmel High a visit and turns out Dakota Stanley wants us to cough up eight thousand dollars if he's gonna coach us. Coach Sylvester has all the Cheerios help out with the car-wash the Glee club holds to raise funds and it's a good thing too because I don't think many people would have been queuing up to watch that wheelchair kid scrape a mop along the side of their truck. I don't know why they're not more suspicious, seeing as they're well aware of Coach Sylvester's resentment for the club, but whatever. I'm not complaining as long as I get to wear the sexy car-wash uniform that she issued us for occasions like this.

I'm hosing down a huge truck when Brittany comes round the side and I can't help but stare. She looks super hot in her bikini top and those heels make her legs look amazing. She smirks when she catches me checking her out and I look back at the car guiltily. I can't stop myself from glancing over a few times though when she leans over the bonnet and her skirt rides up. Damn. She turns around and I look away, playing innocent. Suddenly I'm hit in the face with a spray of water. I cough and splutter, not expecting the attack. Brittany giggles.

"Sorry, Santana. You looked like you needed to cool down though." I can't help but laugh and I spray her back. She shrieks as the cold water drips down her front, leaving a big wet patch on her skirt. She reaches down to the bucket by her side and picks up the sodden sponge. She's grinning wickedly and takes a step towards me. I run around the truck to escape her, grabbing my own sponge and we chase each other in circles, giggling hysterically. Eventually she catches me at the side of the car that's facing the wall and she pins me to the door. She reaches up and squeezes her sponge above my head so I get covered in soapy water. I yelp and do it back to her and soon we're both soaked and our sponges are dry.

"So," she giggles, "did that manage to cool you off?"

"Not really," I smirk. "Now I'm just wet." She smiles slightly and there's a pause. She's still pinning me to the car and we're both breathless from running around it. We look back at each other wordlessly. Suddenly I feel her hand on my inner thigh, slowly sliding upwards. My eyes widen. I instinctively glance around but the truck is obscuring us from everyone else and there's a wall on our other side. I look back at her and she's smiling devilishly as her hands continues its path, slipping under my skirt. She moves closer to me so our wet torsos brush together. Her hand reaches its destination and she cups me through my _Spankies_, pressing up gently. I gasp and my head tilts back. Now I really am wet.

Suddenly there's a loud smash, like the sound of breaking glass. My head snaps forward and we rush out to see what's happened. Everyone else has gathered round and is staring at where that gay kid and the black girl from Glee are standing beside his car. There's a small circular hole in his windscreen which he is gaping at in horror. Wheezy is just standing staring into space, seemingly lost in thought.

"You busted my window!" he's saying. What the hell? Is she some kind of psycho? We watch on in astonishment as he waits for an explanation.

"Well you busted my heart." She says and storms off. I smirk and exchange a grin with Brittany when I realize that our plan must have worked. This is even better than we could have hoped.

* * *

><p>Everything starts to fall apart when we have our first session with Dakota Stanley. For a second it looks like we've succeeded in bringing down the club when all those geeks start filing out in anger. They didn't even last five minutes. Then Berry has to <em>ruin<em> everything by giving some freakin' emotional speech which makes everyone stay. And then they fire Dakota Stanley so Schuester can sweep back in and take charge again. If that's not bad enough, Aretha and the gay kid have miraculously made amends and are happier than ever.

Coach is furious. I don't think I've ever been in this much trouble with her before. But quite frankly I think this whole thing is kind of unfair…I mean it's not like it's _our _fault. How were we supposed to know that the Glee club's moral integrity would stand in the way of our ingenious plan? And now, all thanks to Rachel Berry and her big mouth, I've lost my tanning privileges _and_ I'm in Coach's bad books. I didn't think it was possible to hate that little drama queen any more than I did before. Her and her little club of misfits are going _down_.

* * *

><p>"And then he like…pretended he was dating Tina." I burst out laughing.<p>

"And he bought it? That is priceless. Seriously, who does that fairy think he's kidding?"

We're lying on our stomachs on my bed, with homework spread out around us. Instead of working on it though, for the past ten minutes Britt has been recounting to me her experience at Kurt Hummel's house when he asked her to help him out with his Beyoncé routine. Apparently his dad walked in when "Single Ladies" was in full swing and caught him in his unitard. What ensued sounds pretty painful.

"Yeah, it was kind of weird. It was alright though; I mean, Kurt's not bad." I glance at her to see if she's kidding but she's wearing her usual blank expression. I look back at my history quiz and don't comment.

"I can't believe you told his dad he was on the football team. You realize he's not, right?"

"I know that now. I thought he was the little guy who kicks the ball through the posts. Then I remembered he couldn't be 'cause I totally make out with that guy all the time." She smiles to herself. I look at my watch.

"Hey, it's almost time for Coach's thing." I grab the remote and turn on my TV, finding the right channel. Coach Sylvester has informed all the Cheerios that we have to tune into WOHN tonight to watch her new segment that she's so excited about. She said she would be quizzing us tomorrow and anyone who hasn't watched it will be punished. She didn't specify how.

We watch as she preaches the benefits of caning and I wonder if she's been serious. She's never caned _me_ but I have seen some of the other girls emerging from her office after breaking the rules looking pretty traumatized.

* * *

><p>A few days later we're practicing our routines on the fields and watching the football team attempt to train. I'm surprised to see the gay kid there and it looks like he's trying out for kicker. The rest of the team laughs at him and I don't blame them. I watch beside Britt in disbelief as he reaches down to his CD player and starts blasting "Single Ladies," preparing to kick the ball. What the hell is he doing? He's like, dancing around like a girl. Beside me Britt is mirroring his dance moves. I giggle. I thought he was doing this to prove he <em>isn't<em> gay.

I immediately stop laughing though when he kicks the ball and it sails gracefully through the posts. So does everyone else. Okay, that was pretty impressive. I guess he'll get that spot after all.

At the next football game I can hardly believe it when the whole team suddenly starts performing the routine. It's an interesting tactic, sure enough. Unbelievably, it seems to work and the team end up winning for the first time in what feels like forever.

The next day Puck, Mike Chang and Matt Rutherford join Glee club and I wonder why the hell they're doing it. I mean, I'm a spy, but what motive could _they_ possibly have for joining? Maybe I dumped Puck just in time before he decided to play for the other team. Since we broke up I've been taking full advantage of my new single status and avoiding him like the plague. It's such a relief to finally be able to fool around with whoever I want without having to worry about being caught.

Meanwhile, Quinn has been acting totally weird recently. She hasn't shown up to the past three celibacy club meetings and because she's the only one who actually gives a crap about the damn club, everyone else has stopped bothering with it. It's not like Quinn to ditch without a reason but I'm not complaining because it means I don't have to stick around after school to play stupid games like "The Immaculate Affection."

Rachel Berry has stopped showing up to Glee and as it turns out she's quit. We didn't even have to do anything. Seems she had some falling out with Schuester over some solo she wanted…I forget the details. Her not being there suddenly makes Glee club seem a lot less terrible. And after a few practices without her loud-mouthed opinion I actually realize, with some horror, I kind of enjoy it. Not that I'd ever voice that thought to anyone. Especially not Coach Sylvester. But despite my hatred for every one of those geeks, I actually like singing and I'm a pretty good dancer. And it's fine. I may secretly enjoy Glee but it's not like anybody needs to _know_ that.

For some reason ever since Berry quit everyone in the club is whining about how we need her to come back. I don't know why. Personally I think her decision to leave is the best thing that ever happened to the New Directions. To replace her Mr. Schuester finds some blonde woman called April Rhodes and sure, she can sing. Thing is, she went to McKinley years ago and she's like, forty. It's kind of weird.

One day before Glee we're just hanging around in the choir room, waiting for Mr. Schuester to show up. All the geeks are clustered around the piano, gossiping about Quinn's recent habit of running from the room to vomit. I roll my eyes. Maybe they should mind their own business. That's when Puck stands up and announces to everyone that Quinn is pregnant with Finn's baby. _What?_ The chastity queen, pregnant? Like, how?

Berry suddenly bursts in, ranting on about something or other and I don't stop to listen. Instead I turn around to Brittany who's standing behind me.

"Oh my god, did you hear that, Britt?" I say in an undertone. She leans down, looking at me blankly.

"I'm confused…what's she got in her oven?" I stare at her for a moment.

"She's got one in the oven…it means she's pregnant, Britt." Her face registers her surprise. "This must be why she's been acting so weird recently," I continue. I laugh. "And no wonder she's been too afraid to show her face at the celibacy club. She's obviously not been staying true to her vow." Brittany ponders this for a moment.

"So she's gonna like…have a baby? That's totally weird. What'll she do with it when we have Cheerios practice?" I think for a moment. If Quinn is pregnant, that means she won't fit into her uniform and Coach Sylvester will kick her off the squad for sure. And there's no question of her getting rid of it; Saint Quinn wouldn't want to offend Jesus. And if she's not head cheerleader, then who will be? I've always been her second-in-command. With her out the way the position could be mine. Then I would without a doubt be the top bitch at McKinley, with Britt by my side. "Santana?" Brittany's looking at me questioningly. I smile.

"You know what, Britt-Britt? I think Q getting knocked up might just be one of the best things that could have happened to us."


	11. Chapter 11

Whenever we see Quinn after that, we pretend we don't know and things continue on as normal. April Rhodes is still in the Glee club and there's an awkward moment when she shows up drunk to our first performance. We have to dress up as cowboys which is kind of lame but it actually turns out to be a lot of fun. I'm smiling as we head back to the choir room to prepare for the second song.

Brittany convinces me to let Kurt do my make-up for me, which is kind of weird. I mean, how does he even know about these things? I guess Britt wasn't wrong though; the kid's okay once you realize that he's essentially just another girl. He's just recommending me a new moisturizer when Mr. Schuester appears in the doorway. He tells us that he's sent April home, and we'll just have to cut our performance short. Wow. Thanks a lot Mr. Schue, really good time to get some morals. Not that I care or anything.

Then of course the hobbit comes to beg for her place back. Well quite frankly I'd rather just go home than have her bossing us around again. But then Finn is all welcoming and forgiving so she ends up going on with us and singing lead. And I'd never tell her this, but she actually sounds pretty dope. We all do. After we've performed Brittany gives me a big hug, right there on the stage.

"We rocked!" she says. I don't think she realizes that we're not meant to enjoy this. It's hard not to smile back though as everyone cheers and congratulates each other. We head back to the choir room to get our stuff. As we're walking Matt catches up to me.

"Hey, Santana."

"Matt." I nod at him in greeting. I figure he's heard that me and Puck are no longer an item and wants in to take his place. We were dance partners for our first number and I caught him checking out my ass several times during rehearsals.

He asks me out and I agree to let him take me to Breadstix next weekend. I must admit I've missed all the free food since I broke up with Puck. Just ahead of us I see Mike talking to Brittany, no doubt making her a similar offer. Okay, are they just some kind of double act or something? Weird.

* * *

><p>Over the next couple of weeks I start sleeping with Matt every now and then. In return he buys me dinner a few times and I know Britt has a similar arrangement with Mike. We're not dating them, really. It's just useful having them around when we need them without it being too serious.<p>

Things go back to normal with Berry back in the Glee club and soon I find myself wanting to strangle her every time she opens her mouth again. Mr. Schue announces that he's going to be holding some kind of boys versus girls competition thing and she of course starts bossing us all around immediately. One day after Cheerios practice Brittany stupidly reveals to Quinn that we know she's pregnant. Thankfully it's just the three of us there so the whole squad doesn't find out, but Quinn seems pretty pissed. She stops showing up to Glee meetings, presumably out of shame. It's pretty pathetic. All of us but Man-hands suspect the boys are going to be totally useless so we don't bother rehearsing, instead just picking a song and opting to wing it. As it turns out though, the boys are really good. Weirdly good. And after they perform they're jumping about and shouting like maniacs. What the hell is up with them? Berry is insufferable of course, ranting on for nearly an hour about how _she_ was right and we should have listened to _her._

It all makes sense when Kurt comes and tells us about the Vitamin D pills they took before they went on. I'm glad he tipped us off and everything but his desire to be one of the girls is just plain weird.

We end up following their lead and getting some pills for ourselves. The nurse – who for some reason is suddenly Mr. Schuester's wife – gives all of us some vitamins. Well not all of us, Quinn's pregnancy stops her from having any. She's started showing up again and it's a good thing too because we need her to perform. After we take the pills we go to the girls' bathroom to get dressed. As I'm pulling on my yellow dress I feel them start to take effect. My heartbeat speeds up and I feel super excited for no reason.

I can't stop grinning as we take to the stage in the choir room and our performance goes off without a hitch. Seriously, we totally nailed it; the boys don't stand a chance. We have Cheerios practice after Glee so Quinn, Brittany and I head to the locker room straight after. I can't wait to get out on the field; I have so much freakin' energy right now. Britt and I chatter excitedly as we dump our bags and open our lockers. Quinn gives us a weird look as she dresses herself. She rolls her eyes and heads outside while Brittany and I are still struggling with our dresses. My hands are shaking like mad and I can't get the damn zipper down at the back.

"Ugh, Britt can you help me out here? My dress keeps shaking around and I can't get my zipper; it's super annoying." I gesture wildly at my back, turning it to her.

"Oh yeah, yeah totally." She leans forward and quickly yanks down the zipper in one smooth motion. She even reaches down and pulls the dress over my head, dropping it beside us. "There you go, all better." I turn to look at her. She's only half out of her own dress, her arms all tangled in the straps. I laugh out loud.

"You're doing it wrong, Britt-Britt." I step towards her and pull it off her properly. I grin at her and see her eyes checking out my bare body. Shamelessly. Her hands come to rest on my hips, thumbs stroking my skin. I raise an eyebrow.

"You look super hot right now, Santana. Like really, really hot." I giggle and check her out in her underwear.

"You do too." I establish.

"We should totally make out right now," she says breathlessly. I find myself nodding quickly in agreement. I think that sounds like a _great_ idea. I pull her in by the waist, our warm skin coming together. I push her up against the locker, feeling the adrenaline pumping through me. She stares back at me and her eyes are a brighter blue than I've ever noticed before.

I lean in quickly and kiss her firmly. Her mouth is so warm and it feels so good when she kisses me back, her tongue sliding between my lips. She tastes like cherry and that Brittany-flavor and it's so much nicer than when Matt kisses me. Why the _hell_ don't we do this all the time? Stupid, really.

Her hands dig into my back, pulling me harder into her, and her thigh slips between both of mine. Our hips press together and I feel all that energy from earlier focus between my legs. I detach my lips from hers, trailing them down her jaw to kiss her neck passionately. I can feel her heartbeat going at a million miles an hour under my lips. I feel her hand slip between us and trail down to my underwear. "Hmm…" I smile and hum into her lips in anticipation. She hasn't touched me since that day at the car wash and that really doesn't count. Her fingers are trembling with energy as she fumbles with the elastic. She finally manages to get the tips of her fingers inside and –

"Santana! Brittany!" I jump away from her as if she's just given me an electric shock. She stiffens and we both spin around to stare wide eyed at where Coach Sylvester is standing across the room, staring at us in horror. Oh _crap._ I totally forgot that anybody could walk in here. My heart pounds and I try to splutter out an excuse.

"I just – it's not – we were just -" She snaps her fingers at us, cutting me off.

"I don't want to hear it." There's a silence and she glares at us while we stand, terrified. "Get yourselves dressed and in my office in _five minutes._" With that she turns on her heel and storms out, leaving us standing there frozen in panic.

I turn to Brittany who looks just as freaked out as me.

"Crap, Brittany! She totally saw that, what the hell are we supposed to do now?" She bites her lip nervously.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to tell the truth." Tell the truth? What, that we were just hyped up on vitamin D pills then each decided the other looked hot so started making out? I shake my head.

"Brittany, we can't do that."

"It's not that bad. I got caught making out with some freshman guy in the janitor's closet last week and it was fine." Why the hell was she making out with a _freshman_? Ew...anyway, not the point.

"Yeah but Britt, this is different. This is Coach Sylvester. Plus we're both girls. Who are both on her Cheerios squad. God, what the hell is she gonna think?" She shrugs unhelpfully. I sigh in frustration as I reach for my uniform. "We'd better get to her office. Just don't say anything stupid, okay?"

* * *

><p>"Explain yourselves."<p>

Coach Sylvester sits behind her desk with her arms folded, surveying us through her glasses. I swallow. I'm still pumped full of adrenaline from those damn pills. The ones that got us into this mess in the first place.

"It was nothing, Coach, I swear. Nothing." I shrug.

"Totally." Brittany says hurriedly. "We were just messing around, y'know."

"Right. Just like, practicing for boys. Y'know."

"Look," says Coach Sylvester, ripping her glasses off her face and leaning towards us. "I don't know what makes you two idiots think that it's okay to be late for my _compulsory_ training session in order to indulge in some bicurious teenage experimentation, but it most certainly is _not._ Do you hear me?" We nod frantically. "Now I don't give a rat's ass what you get up to outside of Cheerios practice but you'd better make damn sure it doesn't affect the reputation of one Sue Sylvester. Because if I hear of either one of you slacking off again in order to pursue your hormonal urges you'll be cut from the squad like that." She snaps her fingers and we flinch. "Is that understood?" We nod again and stare back at her in fear. "Clearly been spending too much time prancing about singing show tunes with the Glee club," she mutters, staring into space. There's a pause. "Why are you still here? Get out of my sight." We jump up and flee from the office. "Oh and you'll be running extra laps after practice until I say you can stop," she calls after us.

"Damn it." I grumble as we hurry to the playing fields. "Well, that was embarrassing." She giggles beside me.

"At least she didn't throw us off the squad. And it was totally hot until we got caught, don't you think?" she says. I grin sideways at her.

"Totally. We need to do that more often." She smiles. "Like, seriously Britt, I really like making out with you. It's so awesome and fun and hot." Oh my god, why can't I just shut up? I sound like an idiot. "I want to do it again, soon .Without being interrupted." I manage to stop talking before I tell her how much better it is than kissing Matt. That wouldn't be a good idea. My mind is racing. She's giggling again.

"Sure, sure, we totally can. I like making out with you too, Santana."


	12. Chapter 12

Later, I remember what I said to her on the way to practice and cringe. God, what was with those vitamins? It was like they made me just say whatever the hell went through my mind out loud.

By the next day Coach Sylvester seems to have forgotten all about the locker room incident and things are back to normal. In the end, Man-hands can't keep her big fat mouth shut and Mr. Schuester finds out about the pills, causing a big scandal with Figgins. He then assigns Coach Sylvester as co-director of the Glee club…I don't think it's going to be around for much longer.

Sure enough, Coach calls Quinn, Brittany and me to her office almost immediately, trying to get info on how to best bring down the club. Quinn sits in the middle and goes on about how the "minority students don't feel like they're being heard." Like she'd know the first thing about it, with her white skin and blonde hair, sitting there talking about minorities like _I'm_ not even there. I've never felt more uncomfortable sitting there with the three blondes as they discuss how to use this new information.

Sure enough, at the next Glee club meeting Coach splits the team into two, with all the minorities in her group, including Kurt and the wheelchair kid. Mr. Schuester is furious when he sees what she's doing. Things are getting pretty tense between those two; it's only a matter of time before one of them snaps.

At the first meeting Coach strides in and hands us the sheet music to "Hate On Me." You gotta hand it to her, she picked a pretty dope song. Frankly I'm relieved; I was getting pretty tired of dancing about to Schuester's selection of lame show tunes and singing mindlessly in the background while Berry screams out all her solos. We practice the song and we kick ass at it. See, this is why Coach Sylvester should be in charge of everything. The woman's a genius.

The next day it becomes clear that Schuester's planning on fighting back. I show up to Cheerios practice and find that Quinn, Brittany and I are the only girls there. Quinn says it's because Mr. Schuester failed all the other cheerleaders, meaning they can't be in the Cheerios. Of course Quinn's still here; she's a straight A student. And considering I'm fluent and don't even take the class, I don't think Mr. Schuester will be failing me in Spanish anytime soon. But how the hell is Brittany here? Maybe the fact that I do all her homework for her has paid off. Or maybe she did fail and just didn't realize she wasn't supposed to show up.

Of course Coach loses it when she finds out. I don't think she was expecting Mr. Schuester to actually retaliate. Now all the Cheerios have to pass Spanish if they want to keep their places on the squad.

Meanwhile, all of us in Coach Sylvester's group sneak over to the choir room to hang out and jam for a bit. Admittedly it's actually a lot of fun and part of me wishes that Coach didn't hate the Glee club so much and hadn't split us up. While I'm glad to be rid of the hobbit for a while, I miss being able to dance with Britt and it's just not as fun when we're all separated like this. I don't think Coach would be too sympathetic though.

The next day I'm sitting eating lunch with Brittany, which consists of a bottle of Master Cleanse and an energy bar. I don't know where Quinn is; probably off satisfying whatever gross pregnancy craving she's having this week. "So," I say, "how was Glee club? Y'know, with Schuester's kids."

"We're singing a song called "No Air,"" she replies. I nod.

"By Jordin Sparks? That song's alright. Sounds fun."

"Not really," she says, taking a swig from her bottle. "Mainly it was just Rachel and Finn singing and staring into each others' eyes." She pauses. "It was gross," she adds. "Puck and Quinn and I just stood in the background." I laugh.

"Bet Quinn loved that. Especially with her boyfriend all over the dwarf."

"Not really. She seemed kind of mad and she started yelling at Mr. Schue."

Just then, the subject of our discussion storms up, hands on her hips and stops in front of us.

"Brittany. Coach Sylvester wants you in her office. Now." Brittany jumps up and scurries away. She knows better than to keep Coach waiting. I look to Quinn.

"Why?" I have no idea why Coach would want to see Brittany without either of us. Quinn smirks and doesn't answer me before walking off. God, she's annoying.

* * *

><p>Later, Britt tells me that she was called there with Puck so that Coach could offer them a space in her Glee group and protection from Mr Schuester's "racism." I guess this is her payback for Schuester failing all the Cheerios.<p>

"But Britt, how the hell are _you_ a minority?" I ask, taking in her blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Coach said she did some research and apparently I'm one sixteenth Dutch." I raise my eyebrows. Who knew? "I don't know what that means but she said she has a rainbow tent and I want in it." I smile.

We all gather in the auditorium the next day to hear whatever Schuester has managed to scrape together with just three kids. Personally I'm not expecting much. They don't even get past the first line before Coach is interrupting them and getting out of her seat, ready to leave. That's when Schuester finally snaps and the two of them stand there screaming at each other. We stand awkwardly with our heads bowed. This is pretty embarrassing to be honest. I thought _we_ were supposed to be the children here. Eventually Finn puts an end to it and the Glee club marches out of the auditorium in some kind of show of solidarity or something. I follow with Britt because I don't want to be left alone with the bickering teachers.

Later that night Matt comes over because my parents are out and won't be back till late. As we're walking upstairs to my room he sparks up a conversation.

"I'm real glad all that drama in Glee club is over with. I didn't like being separate from the other guys." I make a face.

"Um...sure, I guess." What am I, his therapist?

"Y'know, it's weird," he continues. "I never thought a guy like me would be into all the singing and dancing and stuff, but-"

"Okay, look," I cut him off. "Can we just get real here? We're not here to _talk_. I don't wanna hear your problems and you don't wanna hear mine. So enough whining. Let's just get to the sex, okay? And so we're clear, I don't want to waste any more time discussing the _Glee club._" He stops and looks at me like I just killed his cat or something. "Ugh." I roll my eyes and storm ahead, walking into my room and sitting on the bed. Eventually he follows, silent this time. Thank god.

Afterwards, he doesn't stick around, just pulls up his pants and grabs for his shirt. I sit back on the bed, waiting for him to just leave already. As usual, he came in less than ten minutes, leaving me frustrated and mildly turned on. That's one of the disadvantages of guys like Matt, they're good for my reputation and all, but have no idea how to satisfy me. "Well…" he says awkwardly, standing up. "See you later." I smile sweetly up at him and wave.

"Take care." He walks out the room and shuts the door behind him. For a few more moments I continue to sit on my bed. Then I reach for my phone and send off a quick text to Brittany. I considered Puck, but I don't want to cause trouble between him and Matt. I know we're not officially dating or anything but Matt might get jealous or something and I can't be bothered dealing with the drama of it if he did. Plus I don't even know if I want to start sleeping with Puck again yet. It's just simpler this way.

About twenty minutes later there's a knock on my bedroom door and she slips inside. "Hey," she says brightly. "I thought Matt was coming over tonight?" She comes over to sit on my bed, dragging my feet onto her lap. I smile as she strokes my legs.

"Yeah. He left already." She looks surprised.

"That was fast," she comments.

"Tell me about it." She giggles and I smirk back. "That's actually kind of the reason I texted you, Britt," I say.

"Oh," she says simply. "Okay. Do you want me to…?" I grin, glad she understands so I don't have to spell it out for her.

"Yeah, that'd be good." I confirm. She smiles back.

"Awesome."

She kicks off her shoes and tucks her legs up, so she's kneeling on the bed. I lean back on my pillows and she crawls over me. I feel my heart start to beat a little faster as she gets closer. We haven't done this since Coach Sylvester caught us in the act in the locker room and I'd almost forgotten how good it feels. She leans down and takes my lips with hers. I sigh into her and run my hands over her neck and shoulders, kissing her back, softly. My arms eventually come to rest around her waist, hugging her to my body. Even though we've done this a million times I can never get over how good she feels against me. She's so warm and soft and her body feels just like mine.

We kiss for a few minutes, not rushing. I always feel so comfortable with Brittany; with boys they're always grabbing at your chest and trying to get your clothes off. With her I can relax and take in her smell and feel without feeling the need to hurry. That's not to say it isn't hot though; it totally is. And after a few minutes my hips are pushing upwards slightly and my hands are slipping under her shirt, stroking the bare skin of her back. It feels hot under my fingertips.

My hands move further up and she slowly sits up to take her shirt off. I lean forward and she pulls my tank top off my arms. Then she reaches round to unclasp my bra and drops in on the ground beside us. She places a hand on my stomach, pausing for a moment. Then she slides it down slowly over my skin and hooks her fingers in the waistband of my shorts. I watch her hands as if in a trance and I notice I'm breathing a little faster than normal. Why does she always have this effect on me?

She raises herself off me a little and tugs down my shorts, pulling them down my legs and off my feet. They join my bra on the floor and she finally leans down to kiss me again. I meet her lips eagerly, tangling one hand behind her head in her hair. She's straightened it today and it slips through my fingers easily. My other hand slides up her torso to cup her breast through her bra, squeezing the soft flesh gently. She mirrors my actions, caressing my bare skin as her tongue strokes mine in my mouth. Her fingers slide over my nipple and it quickly hardens; my back arching slightly into her touch. She rubs it a few more times before rolling it between her fingers, making me moan into her at the delicious sensation. She's resting in between my legs, which I now part further around her hips so she can press more firmly into me. Her lips release mine and she drags them down my neck, gently sucking once on my earlobe. Her mouth leaves a wet trail on my skin where she's sucked and licked at it. "You taste so good," she murmurs into my collarbone, squeezing my breast once as if to emphasize her point. I'm surprised to hear her voice; we don't usually talk when we do this. I say nothing, my head tilted back and my eyes closed. I'm practically panting as her hips leave mine, moving down so her stomach presses between my legs instead. Her mouth travels even further down my torso and she closes her mouth over my nipple, keeping her hand on the other one. A choked gasp escapes my throat at the feeling of her hot, wet tongue swirling around. We don't do this very often but I love it when she does. It feels _so_ damn good. Both of my hands rise to her head, stroking her soft hair back over and over as she moves her mouth on my skin.

After a minute, my breathing has become erratic and my hips are pushing into her stomach again and again. I can't help but moan softly every now and then when her tongue flicks over my nipple and I think she must be able to feel how wet I am through my underwear. I'm dying for her to touch me but I don't want to ask her, so I wait, my hands fisting in her hair.

Eventually, her actions on my chest slow a little. Then she sits up and pulls my underwear smoothly off my legs before returning to her position. Her hands come to rest on my hips and she places a few wet kisses on my breasts. Then she seems to pause for a moment, her lips resting on my skin. I open my eyes and watch her. I'm expecting her to slip one of her hands down in between my legs at any moment like she always does. But she doesn't. Instead, she moves her lips further down, kissing and licking a trail down my stomach, getting lower and lower. My heart jumps when I realize what she wants to do. I've never done _this_ before. Not even with boys. Puck's tried a few times but I always stop him and pull him back up. I always think of the way his stubble scratches me when we kiss and how his hot breath smells like beer and it freaks me out to think of all that happening down there.

But Brittany doesn't have stubble. And her breath smells nice. And I find that the thought of her going down on me doesn't freak me out. Her mouth moving down my stomach tickles slightly and sends delicious shivers through my skin as it gets closer. My heart pounds as I tilt my head back against my pillows, closing my eyes once more.

Eventually she takes both her arms and hooks them around my thighs as her head arrives between my legs. She places her hands on my hip bones as she kisses my inner thigh, impossibly close but not quite there. Finally I feel her lips touch my wet skin and I release a breath which I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Her tongue flicks out and I gasp at the sensation. It's not like anything I've ever felt before. I can feel her breath on me and there's something so intimate about this situation that makes my stomach squirm. Her tongue licks all the way up to my clit, brushing over it and making me gasp. Then her lips close around it and she starts sucking gently. I hear myself cry out and my hips strain against her hands when she's holding me to the bed. It feels _incredible_.

My hands stroke her hair again, smoothing it back over her head until it becomes damp from my sweat. Her touch becomes firmer, her head pressing further into me. She hums into my skin and the vibrations drive me wild.

After a moment she detaches her lips and I have to suppress a groan at the loss of contact. Her mouth moves lower again and then she's burying her lips into my skin, her tongue flicking out over and over, much firmer this time. Her face presses into me and I gasp and moan at the feeling of her licking the wetness from me. Her tongue presses even harder, pushing up into me a little. My head falls back and my back arches. "That's so good, Britt…" I breathe, unable to stop myself. This seems to encourage her and she pushes up a few more times. I can't keep my hips still; they're twitching and straining up against her hands. She moves her lips up to suck on my clit again and one of her hands moves from my side. My head falls sideways, my eyes shut tightly as I try to control myself. I'm getting close. I feel her fingers stroking over my entrance. I tighten my hands in her hair to encourage her and the next second I feel her press two fingers up into me. At the same time she sucks a little harder and her tongue flicks out over my clit. I let out a long moan, unable to hold it in. No one has ever made me feel like this before. Her fingers slide out before thrusting back in, going deeper this time. Her tongue starts moving faster and I know I'm on the edge. Her fingers push in again, curving into me as she presses her tongue onto my clit and I'm lost. I cry out, pulling her head into me as my own throws itself back into my pillows and my mouth falls open.

Then suddenly I'm coming and her fingers push in again and again, curling and stroking inside me. Her tongue slides over my clit and down, licking over all of me.

Her movements slow as I come down and she finishes up with a few soft kisses before raising her head. My limbs go slack and I sigh, fingers stroking through her hair slowly. I feel her wipe her mouth before resting her chin on my stomach.

We stay like that for a few moments, my hand still running over her head gently. Then I open my eyes and glance down at her. I'm surprised to find her looking straight back at me and her bright blue eyes capture mine. My hand stills in her hair. She holds my gaze and I stare back, somehow unable to look away. She's smiling slightly as she watches me and for a few moments we just look at each other. My heart starts beating faster all over again and I feel something growing in my chest. It's too much and I break eye contact, tugging her back up to me.

I lay her beside me and turn onto my side to face her. "That was…" I struggle to find words. "…really good," I finish lamely. My voice sounds slightly hoarse. She smiles and I feel my cheeks grow warm with embarrassment over my stupid comment. I move over to straddle her waist and her hands slide up my thighs. I look down at her stomach, biting my lip a little as I say "Do you want me to like…do it back?"

"I'd like that." She runs her hands up and down my legs slowly. I nod, feeling a little nervous as I lean down. "Don't worry. It's easy," she whispers softly as I press kisses to her neck. Her words are reassuring and I feel myself calm a little. I pretend I don't hear her and move my head up to kiss her lips. I notice the taste of her peach flavored Lip Smackers is now mixed with something else.

I reach down and tug at her bra. Getting the message, she leans up so I can remove it. We lie back down and our bodies press warmly together. Her legs rise up and wrap around my waist as I continue to kiss her, tongue deep in her mouth. Her hands stroke up and down my bare back and I begin to rock my hips into hers gently.

One of my hands moves to stroke her breast, thumb grazing over her hardening nipple. I start trailing kisses down her neck, sucking gently on her skin. I breathe in her smell as I move down past her collarbone and it makes my head spin. Her breasts rise and fall with her breathing and I stare, taking them in for a moment before lowering my mouth to one of her nipples. "Mmm…" she hums as my mouth closes over the soft skin. I feel her hips press against my stomach as I start to flick my tongue around and suck gently. One of her hands slides up to the back of my neck, holding my head close to her. I roll her other nipple between my fingers, loving the way her back arches, stretching her toned stomach and pushing her breasts towards me. Her eyes have fluttered closed and her lips have parted slightly as her breathing picks up. Her underwear is hot and damp against my stomach as she grinds up into me.

After a minute or two she's writhing beneath me and I place one last kiss to her chest before moving lower. I savor the taste of her soft skin as I kiss and lick down past her bellybutton. Her fingers weave into my hair as I remove her underwear then shift myself so my head is between her legs. I glance up at her face. Her eyes are shut and she's biting her lip a little in anticipation. I lower my gaze and take in the sight before me. I've never felt this close to her before and it makes my heart race. She's so wet.

I place a couple of kisses on her inner thigh, working up the courage to move closer. I can smell her and it's intoxicating. As I lick once up her damp inner thigh I can taste her and it's nothing like what I expected. I move one hand round her thigh and onto her lower stomach to steady myself, before closing my eyes and leaning forward. I press my lips into her and feel her wetness coat them. Her nails drag over my scalp lightly, encouraging me to move closer. I slip my tongue out and lick at her slowly a few times, pressing firmly into her. I hear her moan softly in appreciation.

I try to remember what she did to me and move my lips to her clit. As soon as I do I feel the muscles in her stomach twitch and when I start sucking gently I have to press down with my hand to stop her hips rocking into me. She moans slightly louder and I flick my tongue out a few times, licking lightly at her clit. Her hand is clenching in my hair now and I can feel her back arching. "Oh god, Santana…" she murmurs, her knees rising slightly and parting further. My heart jumps. I suck harder and move my other hand between her legs, underneath my mouth. I feel around for her entrance and when I find it I slide my fingers in, pressing up hard as I flick my tongue out faster. She gasps and her breathing becomes loud and uneven. I start moving my fingers in and out and her hips rock slightly with my motions, driving me in deeper and deeper. Each time I push in she lets out a short high pitched noise.

"I'm close..." she whispers breathlessly. I flatten my tongue against her clit and press my fingers into her as hard as I can, curling the tips of them. I do it again and she cries out, grabbing at my head and pushing my lips firmly into her. I bury my mouth in her, kissing and licking as I rub my fingers against that spot deep inside of her. She lets out a moan and I feel her walls clench around my hand over and over and her hips buck into me uncontrollably. I keep moving as she comes, until I feel her body go limp.

I remove my fingers and lift my head, wiping my mouth with my hand. I crawl up and lie beside her, watching her face. She's panting, with her eyes still shut and her head tilted back on the pillows. Her hair is messy and sticking to her. As I stare at her I reach over and gently brush a blonde strand off her forehead. Her eyes flicker open as my fingers graze her skin and she turns to me. I find myself speechless again as her eyes lock onto mine. She rolls onto her side and reaches over to slide one hand behind my head, pulling me closer. I swallow as she continues to gaze at me.

That feeling in my chest comes back and grows into an ache as I look back at her. Her cheeks are flushed and she's still breathing heavily. I don't think she's ever looked more beautiful. The thought crosses my mind before I can stop it. It leaves me flustered and uncomfortable and I want to tear my eyes off hers but I can't. She pulls my head closer and our foreheads touch together. I'm breathing heavily now too. She kisses me softly, her hand stroking my hair tenderly. Our lips move together gently and her tongue slips into my mouth.

The ache in my chest grows and grows until I can't take it anymore and I pull away abruptly. She looks at me, confused and I glance away, not meeting her eyes. "Bathroom," I mutter before twisting away and getting up. My cheeks burn as I cross the room, grabbing some clothes on the way. I lock myself in the bathroom and turn to face the mirror, resting my hands on the sink. Okay, what the hell _was _that? My heart is still racing and my lips are tingling where she was kissing them. I don't know what's wrong with me. This has never happened before. I turn the tap on and splash some cold water on my face.

When she was looking at me like that…it just felt weird. I couldn't take my eyes off her. I felt like I could have stayed there forever just looking into her eyes. But at the same time I wanted to run and hide from her. I felt so naked and it had nothing to do with the fact that I had no clothes on. I take a deep breath and stare at my reflection. I look stupid and confused. Weak and vulnerable.

I frown and shake my head a little. This is stupid. I'm Santana Lopez; queen bitch and soon to be head cheerleader at McKinley. I don't start getting _feelings_ for people. Not boys; not girls and certainly not my best friend. God this whole thing is her fault anyway. Why the hell was she kissing me like that? She needs to understand that what we do doesn't count; it doesn't mean anything. Just like with boys. Looks like this is going to be yet another thing I'll have to explain to her.

I run my hands through my hair once, then tie it up into a messy bun. I reach for the pajamas I brought in with me and pull them on. I check my reflection once more. Back to normal. Good. I breathe in and out then unlock the door and step back into my room.

She's sitting on my bed with her legs folded, looking at the TV. She's dressed herself in one of my old t-shirts and a pair of soft red gym shorts. Some kids cartoon is playing on the screen.

"Hey," she smiles as I come nearer. I feel myself relax, glad she's being normal again.

"Hi." I glance at the TV. "Let's watch a movie or something. I don't want to watch lame cartoons."

"Sure," she says. I search around and stick in a DVD before crawling back onto the bed with the remote. As I'm fiddling with the buttons and looking at the screen she comes and sits between my legs, leaning back into me. I sigh, hoping she doesn't read into it when I wind my arms round her front and settle back to watch the movie. We do this all the time after all. She reaches forward and tugs the blanket over us.

I relax as I sit there, cuddling her to me and staring at the screen. This is fine. I don't know why I was so worried and flustered before. Maybe I'm just getting sick or something.


	13. Chapter 13

At the next Glee club meeting Coach announces that she'll be stepping down as co-director. I must admit I'm kind of relieved; things were getting kind of intense. And now all the Cheerios that failed Spanish are allowed to come back to the squad. We sit there as Schuester gives some big emotional speech about being included or acceptance or something and I roll my eyes. This is why Glee club is so lame sometimes; they act like they're some big family of outsiders or something and always want to talk about their feelings. Then something interesting happens.

"…or that Quinn is -"

"Pregnant," Coach Sylvester interrupts Mr. Schuester's rant. My eyes widen. "Sorry Q. It'll be all over the blogosphere by this afternoon. Now everybody knows. Including me." Well, finally. I've been tipping off that newspaper geek with the Jew-fro for like two weeks. Quinn's mouth has fallen open and she looks like she's just been slapped. I try not to smile too much. Now that Coach knows, her days on the Cheerios squad are numbered and the head cheerleader title will be mine for sure.

Everyone in the Glee club is all sympathetic towards Quinn and we have to all hold hands and sing some lame song for her. I don't get it; it's her own stupid fault for being dumb enough to get pregnant. My time in the celibacy club taught me that she harbors a deep resentment for contraception, so personally I'm not surprised she got knocked up as soon as she opened her legs.

A week later I find myself in Glee watching on in horror as Puck gets out his guitar and starts singing to Man-hands. _Man-hands_. Seriously. He's like, serenading her. God, he must be getting desperate. I mean, I know he's been missing me in his bed, but _Rachel Berry?_ Really? I shake my head in disgust. She sits at the front soaking up all the attention and loving it. It makes me feel nauseous.

Later that evening, Britt and I are sitting on my bed, watching Sue's Corner. I'm lying on my stomach and Brittany's sitting cross legged beside me. As Coach Sylvester rants on about how people should be able to marry their dogs I express my distaste for Puck's new love interest.

"I mean, she's just _so_ unattractive!" I exclaim. Brittany nods along understandingly. "Does he _want_ to end up like Finn and Quinn?" Earlier we passed by the couple in the corridor covered head to foot in slushy, looking completely mortified. Brittany shrugs.

"I totally don't get it either." I get the impression that she doesn't really care all that much. I roll my eyes.

"Ugh, whatever. He'll probably be over it and ditch her by the end of the week anyway." I put it out of my mind and turn my attention back to the screen. Sue's Corner has just ended so I grab the remote and turn off the TV. I don't want to watch any more of the local news program than I have to. There's a small pause.

"Wanna make out?" Brittany asks casually, twirling her fingers in my ponytail. I sigh and don't answer for a moment. I do want to make out. But ever since that last time I've been thinking that maybe we should stop doing this so much. I mean, I don't want to get into the habit of sleeping with my best friend. Who's a girl. I figure it's not too healthy and I don't want things to get messy.

"No," I say finally. "Not today." She seems completely unfazed by my rejection and simply nods.

"'Kay." She pulls my hair out and starts braiding it. I don't say anything else and just lie there, trying not to regret my decision. I wish it wasn't so damn hard. Especially with her soft fingers brushing lightly against the back of neck and sending shivers all up and down my back. I detach myself from the sensation and reach over to grab a magazine to focus on instead.

* * *

><p>At the next Glee club meeting we find out that the football coach has scheduled a practice at the same time the Glee club meets, meaning that all the guys have to choose between the two. The rest of us wait to see who's going to bother showing up and I can hardly believe it when Matt and Mike walk in. And then, unbelievably, Puck. He comes in and Berry gives him a big emotional hug. So what, are they <em>dating<em> now? The only guy who doesn't turn up is Finn and everyone seems all disappointed in him. Personally I'm not surprised in the slightest. Hell, if I were him I wouldn't have picked Glee either.

All the drama doesn't last too long though, because before you know it Tanaka has cancelled the other practice and Finn's back at Glee. What's more Puck and Berry's little romance has come to an end; thank god for that. I decide it's time to forgive him and start sneaking over to his place again. I don't think Matt will really mind…and if he does I doubt he'll have the balls to say something. Besides, now that I've decided to suspend my fooling around with Britt I need to get action _somewhere_.

Coach Sylvester finally kicks Quinn off the squad and I'm glad she's out of the picture. Now I can use every opportunity i can to suck up at Cheerios practice and hopefully Coach will pick me to replace her. Quinn's all whiney at Glee club, complaining about how she's gonna be unpopular now she's not head cheerleader. Well, what did she expect; that we'd keep tossing her around and lifting her to the top of the pyramid with a huge baby bump? As if. Also, we get to slushy Mr. Schuester which is extremely satisfying.

* * *

><p>"My life is so over. This is <em>not<em> what I signed up for." I'm standing with Brittany in the locker room looking down at the wheelchair which Mr. Schuester just announced I'm going to have to spend the week rolling around in. And not only that; I'll be spending my lunchtimes this week running a _bake sale_ to raise money for _Glee_. It's like he's _trying_ to make us unpopular. This is all the stupid cripple's fault for whining about having to go to sectionals separately. I don't get what the big deal is; he'd still get to the competition just fine, wouldn't he? Why should we suffer just because he can't walk? I already got some weird looks just wheeling the damn thing here after Glee club.

Brittany pats my shoulder comfortingly and examines her own wheelchair. "Well…maybe it'll be fun," she offers. "We can like, race each other and stuff." I glare at her. She is so not helping.

"Whatever. Let's just get to practice and worry about this whole thing later." I stomp out the locker room to the fields. It's weeks like this that I hate that damn Spanish teacher. Not only is he single handedly destroying my reputation here at McKinley but he clearly has no eye for talent whatsoever. Britt and I are constantly delegated to backing vocals while Man-hands always gets all the solos. Take for example today when he automatically gave her the solo for that song I'd never heard of and wouldn't even let Kurt try out. Even I thought that was pretty patronizing and I am the queen of condescension.

I try to limit the hours I spend in my wheelchair to the times when I think the least people will be around to see it, but it's no use. The first day I wheel my way into the corridor, head low, Brittany rolling along behind me, I hear people laughing and I can practically feel their stares. It's completely mortifying. Not to mention freakin' inconvenient. I can barely reach my locker and when I finally manage to get it open all my books come tumbling down and hit me on the head.

I'm relieved by the time Glee rolls around because at least all those other freaks have to be in these damn chairs as well. Turns out Schuester's changed his tune and is letting Kurt audition for that song after all. Of course RuPaul is furious at her solo being snatched away from her and makes a huge fuss, adding to my growing irritation.

At lunch I sit there at the damn bake sale, just silently wishing the ground would swallow me up. No one's even buying anything. Then I see Brittany wandering up with that kid with Down's Syndrome. I stare as she approaches, wondering when the hell _they _started hanging out. They don't exactly run in the same social circles.

"Brittany, you're supposed to be in your wheelchair," I say, irritated. If I have to suffer then so should she.

"I lost it." Of course she did. At least she gets that Becky kid to buy a cupcake. I don't know when Brittany started being so nice; she acts like her big sister or something. It would be cute if I wasn't having the worst day ever. I feel super uncomfortable as I take the money from Becky. I don't want people thinking I'm soft or anything but I just can't be a bitch to a kid with Down's Syndrome. I mean, even _I'm_ not that mean.

She drifts off and Brittany joins us at the table. I wonder if I could give her my wheelchair to replace her lost one and make Schuester think I did it out of kindness. A moment later Finn loses it over some bitchy comment Quinn made and they both storm off, leaving Puck with Britt and me. He seems to be in a mood about something so I don't make conversation. We sit miserably for the rest of lunch, failing to sell even one more cake. When the bell rings Brittany asks me if I'll give her a ride in my wheelchair. I immediately agree, glad for any opportunity to be out of the damn thing and I wheel her along to her next class.

"So since when do you hang out with…" I hesitate. "…that girl you were with?" She looks up, surprised.

"Oh you mean Becky? She's cool. She always helps me with math. Numbers confuse me." I simply nod, stunned by her innocence. It's sweet really. Sometimes I wish I were more like Brittany. Then I realize that it's much better being me.

The next day after school we head to Cheerios practice to find Becky herself standing with the rest of the squad. Brittany waves excitedly at her friend and I just stare, wide eyed. Coach acts completely indifferent, working her just as hard as the rest of us. I conceal my surprise at her strange choice of new Cheerio and instead focus on showing off my head cheerleader potential as much as possible.

And there is definitely something weird going on with Puck. One day Britt and I are just heading to class and Finn practically barrels into us after Puck shoves him out his wheelchair. They fight and wrestle on the ground until Mr. Schuester appears to break them apart. It's super weird. I know Puck has beaten up a lot of kids but I've never seen those two get into a fight. But whatever. It's not my problem as long as he still delivers in the bedroom.

The next day, he shows up with a new batch of cupcakes which he claims he used his Nana's old recipe to make. And they're actually good. Like, really really good. They're addictive. I can't get enough of them and I don't even like cupcakes that much. Turns out the other students like them too and we actually make some money this time. I gotta hand it to Puck. And his Nana. The woman really knew how to bake.

That day in Glee, Kurt and Berry are auditioning for that solo. Kurt made us swear to vote for whoever sings better but I don't give a crap. I've already decided there's no way I'm supporting Man-hands in anything. It doesn't matter that he completely messes up the high note; I still pick him to win the competition. I think the only other person who did was Quinn though and Berry takes the part. Damn.

Meanwhile, we've been hard at work on our wheelchair number and by the end of the week we're getting ready for the dress rehearsal. I'm so glad this is the last day I'll have to use this stupid chair. Next week I am definitely going to have to be extra bitchy to compensate for the past few days I've spent wheeling myself around and selling cupcakes. Brittany's fixing my hair into two side ponytails while I examine the odd combination of suspenders, yellow t-shirts and white gloves that Schuester's supplied us with for the performance. I look like a freakin' clown.

"All done," she says coming round to admire her handiwork. She smiles as I look sourly back at her. "You look super cute." I stand, turning to look at my reflection in the mirror. God, this hairstyle makes me look like a five year old. In fact I'm pretty sure that's how old I was when I last wore my hair like this. I grimace before sitting Britt down to fix her hair.

After I'm done I stand her up to look at her. I can't help but smile. I may look like an idiot but the hairstyle and outfit on her are admittedly adorable.

"How do I look?" she asks, spinning around once.

"Awesome," I say.

"Cool," she says beaming. "You totally do too. Thanks for fixing my hair." She leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I can't help but grin despite my resentment for the way I look. She grabs my hand and drags me to the auditorium where our wheelchairs are waiting.

Our rendition of "Proud Mary" actually sounds pretty awesome. Turns out that Artie guy actually has a pretty decent voice. And for once Berry isn't on lead vocals taking control of everything. It's a good thing I'm so fit from being on the Cheerios because having to wheel myself all over the stage at the same time as singing is pretty damn exhausting. By the end of the song I'm completely out of breath and I'm not the only one either. I can't believe Artie does this every day. Sucks for him.

* * *

><p>One evening I'm sitting on my bed, waiting for Matt to come and pick me up. He's supposed to be taking me to Breadstix tonight but he's over ten minutes late. He's got some nerve if he thinks it's okay to just keep me waiting like this. I'm just fantasizing about all the extra bling I can make him buy me to make up for it when my phone starts ringing. It's Matt. I grab it, connecting the call.<p>

"Where the hell are you?" I snap. "I've been waiting to get my Stix on for at least twenty minutes now."

"Sorry, Santana. I'm not going to be able to make it tonight after all." My eyes narrow.

"And you're telling me this _now?_ Why the hell not?"

"Well…I had to go to the hospital." The hospital?

"Why? What's wrong with you?" He hesitates.

"Um…you don't really wanna know." I pull a face, wondering what gross disease he has. It had better not be an STI.

"You don't get to just bail on Santana Lopez without a good reason, _Matt._ So spill." He sighs.

"Well…okay. They found a spider in my ear." Oh wow, that is gross.

"A _spider?_" I fight back a laugh. Suddenly I'm really glad that he's not taking me out tonight. I mean, imagine if it had crawled out of there while we were making out? Seeing a gross bug come out of the person you're macking with is definitely not a turn on.

I end the phone call, wishing Matt luck with his little predicament. I sigh once before grabbing my car keys and texting Puck to say I'm on my way over.

* * *

><p>In Glee club Mr. Schuester gives us an assignment to come up with a ballad to help us prepare for sectionals. We have to pick our partner's name out of a hat and I'm totally relieved to get Brittany. Mainly because the only other names left were Berry and Mr. Schuester, neither of whom I want to spend any more time with than I absolutely have to. That leaves those two to pair up and she forces him to sing some mushy love song. It's totally obvious that she's crushing on him and watching her gazing up at him with those crazy eyes and following him around the piano is so pathetic it's hilarious.<p>

A few days later I've completely forgotten about the ballad assignment, then Britt brings it up while we're hanging out at hers. We're in the kitchen trying to recreate those cupcakes that Puck made using the recipe I made him give me. Things aren't going too well and I'm starting to think he just made up these ingredients.

"So, what are we going to do for the Glee assignment?" she asks as she pours in the third cup of brown sugar.

"Glee assignment? Oh, that." I make a face. "You were actually planning on doing it?"

"Yeah, we have to, Santana." She gives me a serious look. "And it'll be fun anyways." I think she and I have very different ideas of what fun is. I sigh.

"Fine. What do I have to do again? A ballad, right?" She nods.

"Mr. Schue said we just had to express our feelings and emotions to the other person. So just find a song which reminds you of me." She shrugs as she stirs in some milk. "Simple." I roll my eyes. Easy for her to say. Personally I don't buy into all that emotional crap. I have absolutely no idea what song I would sing to Brittany. Well, I mean maybe I could think of a few if I tried, but none that wouldn't make me sound like a sentimental idiot. And that's definitely not my style.

In the back of my mind I briefly recall that weird moment after we last had sex. But no. I don't even want to _think_ about that, let alone try and express it in song. I force the memory away, focusing instead on finding the right setting on the microwave.

"Santana?" I realize I've not spoken for a while. I sigh.

"I don't know, Britt. I don't have time for some stupid Glee assignment. Why don't you come up with something?" She thinks for a moment.

"I think I can do that," she says after a pause. I nod, glad I don't have to do anything. I briefly wonder with some curiosity what song she'll choose before turning my attention back to the mixing bowl in Brittany's arms. The mixture has gone thick, lumpy and dark brown. She probably did something wrong; I never should have let her read that recipe herself.

* * *

><p>In the end the whole discussion turns out to be irrelevant because the a few days later Mercedes approaches us in the corridor to tell us we're scrapping the assignment and singing a song for Finn and Quinn instead. We're standing at our lockers and I glance around, not wanting people to see us speaking to a loser like her.<p>

"Why?" I say, rolling my eyes. "They're not the only ones with problems, y'know." She gives me a disgusted look.

"Because those guys are our friends. And we need to let them know that we got their backs, no matter what. We're rehearsing in the choir room at lunch. Just be there, okay?" She walks away without waiting for a response.

"Ugh, this is so lame." I say turning to my locker. Britt shrugs.

"Mercedes has a point. I mean, Quinn's supposed to be our friend. We should be there for her." Hearing her words I feel a slight twinge of guilt. Truth be told I haven't really spared much thought for what Quinn might be going through, instead just seeing her pregnancy as an opportunity to better my own reputation. I sigh, closing my locker.

"I guess. C'mon, let's go." I reach for her pinky and we head to class. Trust Britt to be the only person who can make _me_ feel guilty about something.

Admittedly, singing to Finn and Quinn is actually a lot of fun. It reminds me of when we all used to be friends and I find myself almost missing those days. And I guess in a way we all kind of are friends when we're inside that choir room. I mean, I would never look twice at Kurt or Tina in the corridor but when it's time for Glee club we can all hang out and it's like it doesn't count. It's weird.

After our performance I give Quinn a hug; kind of like my way of apologizing for immediately stealing her title of top bitch at McKinley without a second thought. She's actually in tears and I almost feel bad for her. Apparently her parents found out about the baby and kicked her out so she's staying with Finn now.

After Glee Britt and I head to the parking lot so I can drive us home. As we're walking I remember our conversation from the other day.

"So Britt, you never told me. What song were you gonna pick for our ballad performance?" We never got around to practicing because Mercedes told us about our performance for Quinn and Finn before we got the chance. I'm still curious to know what she had in mind though.

"Oh!" She smiles. "We were gonna do "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC." I raise my eyebrows. Not exactly what I was expecting.

"Uh, Britt, you know that song's about sex right?" I think of the lyrics and cringe slightly.

"Yeah, totally," she nods. "It came on in my dad's car the other day and it reminded me of you and how much I love our sexy times so I thought it was perfect." I can't help but laugh. I'm totally glad now that we didn't have to perform in the end because _that_ would have been a bit awkward to explain to Mr. Schue. I smirk to myself as I remember the words of the song. Damn. I must be pretty freakin' good in the sack. Not that I didn't know that already of course.

* * *

><p>As sectionals comes up Coach Sylvester is pushing Britt and I to get info for her on what Mr. Schue is planning. But to be honest, my heart's not really in it anymore. I've grown kind of used to being in Glee club and it's a nice relief from working my ass off at Cheerios practice and being a bitch all the time. So when Coach calls me into her office and asks me to get her our set list I'm kind of hesitant.<p>

"Um…well, I'll try. It's just…" She narrows her eyes.

"Is this going to be a problem, Santana?"

"Well…I just don't think he's decided yet," I finish, not meeting her eyes.

"I see." She looks at me for a moment. Crap, I think she's suspicious. "Well, that'll be all then. Now get yourself to the playing fields, I have fan mail to read."

After that, it becomes obvious that she's started using Brittany to spy for her instead. Thing is, she's so hopeless at it that she always gets caught by Mr. Schue, so I'm not too worried. I don't think she even realizes what Coach is trying to do.

Mr. Schuester invites the Glee club from Jane Adams Academy to perform for us in the auditorium and personally I think they're pretty damn good. They're certainly a lot more badass than us and for a moment I think that I wouldn't mind being in their group instead. But then I remind myself to be careful what I wish for because if I get caught shoplifting again I might actually be headed to that school.

One evening Puck starts sending me dirty texts and I smirk as I reply, knowing exactly how to drive him wild. After a while I start to wonder why he's texting me instead of just calling me over to his. Instead of typing out another sext I send a different message.

"_Why don't I just come over so we can finish this properly?_ ;)"

I only have to wait about thirty seconds before he replies.

"_I'm not at home. Quinn asked me to babysit with her so I'm stuck here all night._"

Okay, pause. _Quinn_? I throw down my phone in disgust. I can hardly believe it. Who the hell does she think she is? Just when I was being nice to her again as well. That's it.

On Monday I pay her a visit at her locker to remind her just who Puckerman belongs to. And to make sure she gets the message I tell her to check his phone for my sexts which I know he'll have saved for later. That should serve her right for thinking she can just barge in and try and take what's mine. I mean, I never went after Finn did I? Mainly because of his complete lack of sex appeal but that's beside the point. Any sympathy I had for her is sure as hell gone now.

The next day we perform in front of those deaf kids who we're competing against at sectionals and I make sure to pick Puck as my dance partner to piss off Quinn. Mr. Schue has all the boys wearing wigs for some reason and it's kind of creepy. Afterwards, they sing for us and I'm expecting it to be terrible. I mean, they're a deaf choir. They perform "Imagine" and it's actually kind of sweet, even if they're technically not singing. After a few lines Mercedes joins in, followed soon after by the rest of the club and we sound pretty awesome together. It wouldn't have been my first choice of song but it's kind of fun hanging out with the other kids and following along with the actions. I grin at Britt and she catches my eye, smiling back. It's weird; at the start of this year I don't think either of us would have guessed we'd ever find ourselves in the choir room singing our hearts out with a bunch of deaf kids. But here we are. And it feels weirdly good to stop acting like a bitch for just a few minutes. Of course Mr. Schuester is an emotional wreck, telling us it's the most moving display he has ever seen in all his years of teaching and all that. I roll my eyes. Just because I sang some stupid song doesn't mean I've gone completely soft or anything. I'm still the head bitch in charge at McKinley and if anyone forgets it...I'll be sure to remind them.


	14. Chapter 14

Now we all know I hate Rachel Berry more than anybody in this world, but this week she's actually done something right for once. I have no idea how the hell she did it, but she's managed to land the entire Glee club parts in a local commercial. It's for mattresses, which is kind of lame; I'd much rather be selling cars or something, but at least we'll be on TV.

They dress us up in these hideous pajamas and then Berry convinces them to let us perform instead of reading the awful script they have prepared. We decide on "Jump," and soon we set to work choreographing our performance. As usual Man-hands sets about taking control of everything.

"…and then Brittany and Santana will both do a cartwheel past each other when Artie sings that line. Let's do a practice run now."

I glower at Berry, not enjoying being bossed around and don't move. She sighs.

"Look, Santana; while I appreciate that you may be reluctant to cooperate due to the inexplicable and quite frankly childish hatred you seem to harbor for me, your refusal to follow simple instructions is holding everybody up and wasting what little time we have." She glares at me, hands on her hips. "So please just grow up and do as I say." Rolling my eyes, I resist the urge to shove her backwards off the edge of the big mattresses we're standing on and move to my starting position. She seems satisfied and flounces off to start the music.

Artie starts singing and I move into position to execute the cartwheel. I'm still busy hating Rachel Berry though and I completely mess up my aim and timing, accidentally careening straight into Brittany's path. I collide with her body and we fall down in a tangle of limbs. I land on my back and she comes crashing down on top of me.

"Ugh! Crap!" I say breathlessly, winded from Brittany landing hard on my stomach.

"Ow," she says, wincing. She lifts herself off me slightly, supporting herself with her hands on either side of me. I look up at her, panting. Suddenly this position feels all too familiar. She doesn't move off me immediately though and my hands instinctively come to rest on her hips before I can think about what I'm doing.

"Sorry, Santana. Are you okay?" She stares down at me, still effectively pinning me to the mattress. Her hair falls down to tickle my face and I suddenly forget the pain in my stomach. I stare back, realizing her proximity and the intimacy of our position and forget to answer her question for a second. My heart beat speeds up a little as she looks at me with concern and I'm all too aware of her hips pressing warmly into me.

"Um…yeah," I almost whisper, feeling my cheeks get hot. Now I'm breathless for an entirely different reason. She bites her lip in worry as she hovers over me, oblivious to my reaction to her closeness.

"I don't know what happened. I'll try to get it right next time." I'm too proud to admit that it was actually my fault so I just nod. She lifts herself off me and I immediately miss her warmth, my hands lingering a bit too long on her hips. I look away in embarrassment as I take the hand she offers to pull me up. Just as I stand up Berry appears beside us.

"What happened there? I was assuming that with both of you being on the cheerleading squad a basic cartwheel wouldn't pose too much of a problem." The music has stopped and everyone is looking at us now.

"Shut it, Berry," I snap, still slightly flustered as Brittany smoothes down my pajamas and fixes my hair. "Let's just go again, shall we?" She rolls her eyes and storms away to restart the music.

We go through it a few more times and I make sure to land my cartwheel perfectly every time, cursing myself for messing up on the first try. Eventually we have the whole song down and we're ready to film it. We manage to get it in two takes and we end it with some cheesy slogan they wanted us to say.

The next day Britt invites me to hers for a sleepover to watch the commercial when it airs. We have to catch Sue's Corner anyway, so we watch that while we wait for it to come on. Coach sits there complaining about having to look at fat and ugly people all the time and I nod in agreement.

"She is so right," I say. "I mean, if Man-hands was never allowed to leave the house then life would be so much better for everyone." We're sitting cross-legged on her bed, a bowl of popcorn between us.

"Yeah," Brittany says, although I'm pretty sure she's not paying attention. She's got her fat cat that she's obsessed with in her lap and is fussing over it, scratching its ears and feeding it popcorn. As soon as the news program ends the mattress commercial starts rolling.

"Look, Britt, it's on!" I say, pointing eagerly. She looks up quickly, bouncing in excitement and causing Lord Tubbington to hiss and leap off the bed. We watch as Rachel Berry rants on while we perform the song in the background. I don't see why _she _should get all the glory; I would have been way better at reading the lines.

After it's over some commercial for a breakfast cereal comes on and I turn to Britt.

"Well, I guess that's it," I say with a small shrug.

"Yeah," she says, looking unimpressed. "I thought I'd be in it more." I smile and pat her knee reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Britt-Britt, we'll be on TV when we win cheer nationals this year and we'll get more screen time than Rachel Berry ever will." She grins.

"Awesome." She falls back onto her bed arms splayed behind her head. She lies there silently while I watch some dumb "Sheets-N-Things" commercial on the screen.

After a few moments I feel her fingers playing at the bottom of my hoodie. She slips them under and grazes them along the skin at the bottom of my back. I swallow. I know what she's trying to do. Since that day I first rejected her she's asked me a couple of other times to make out with her but I said no. After that she stopped asking but she does this sometimes, occasionally stroking up my thigh or slipping her hands just under the material of my shirt. It's not easy but I always just ignore it and find somewhere else to move myself. I know if I give in I won't be able to stop and we'll end up having sex. And I don't know if I want to start that again.

I close my eyes for a second as I feel her fingers dance over my skin, resisting the urge to just turn around and kiss her soft lips. Her hand disappears further under my hoodie and her fingers move slightly higher. As soon as they do I turn away and get up, keeping my back to her so I don't have to see the slightly sad expression I know will be on her face. I turn my attention to her DVD collection. "So Britt," I say casually, "what d'you say to a Sweet Valley High marathon?" I finally turn to look at her with a grin.

"Beats doing homework," she replies, smiling now. I put in the DVD and turn off the lights before getting into bed beside her. She cuddles up to my side, laying her head on my shoulder. I smile and rest my head on top of hers, winding an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close. It's nights like this that I love; when I don't have to worry about popularity and boys and cheerleading and all that crap. I can just shove in some crappy DVD and snuggle with my best friend, forgetting that when I wake up tomorrow it's all gonna start again.

* * *

><p>And it does. The next day at school I'm just heading to class after the bell rings and through the throng of people I catch a glimpse of Quinn. She's standing looking into Coach Sylvester's office and after a moment she walks to the door and goes in. I stand still for a moment, panicking slightly, because if I saw correctly, she was wearing her Cheerios uniform. Does this mean she's back on the squad? Has Coach forgiven her and reappointed her as head cheerleader? I sure as hell hope not after all the hard work I've done to become her replacement.<p>

The disturbing visual stays in the back of my mind all day until finally in the parking lot I see her again. I note with some relief that she's back in her plain clothes. I tell Brittany to wait by my car before striding over to her. She raises an eyebrow as I stop in front of her, hands on my hips.

"I saw you earlier. What were you doing in Coach's office? And in your Cheerios uniform?" She rolls her eyes.

"Don't worry, Santana. I'm not rejoining the squad, if that's what you're worried about. I know how much you're enjoying my absence," she says coldly.

"Then what the hell were you doing there? Begging for your place back, were you?" I sneer. She bristles.

"Actually, I was making sure the Glee club doesn't get _disqualified_ from competing at sectionals. Plus I managed to land us a full page in the Thunderclap for the Glee Club photo. I may not be head cheerleader anymore but I still know how to blackmail." I narrow my eyes.

"Disqualified? What are you talking about?" I snap.

"You didn't hear? Coach Sylvester went and had the club's amateur status revoked because of Berry's little mattress commercial. We can still compete as long as Mr. Schue steps down as the director of the Glee club. And thanks to me, Coach Sylvester definitely isn't going to make a fuss about it. Not unless she wants her Cheerios disqualified too." I stare back at her in disbelief.

"Why do you even care? The only reason you joined Glee in the first place was to keep Man-hands off Finn. Now you're fighting to keep it in business?" She doesn't say anything for a few moments, just looks at me wordlessly as if evaluating me. I scowl back.

"You know, Santana," she says finally, with an edge to her voice, "you can fight all you want to impress Coach Sylvester and claw your way to the top of that pyramid. And yeah, you might just get that title of head cheerleader that you want so much. But you know what?" She pauses and just before she speaks again I notice her eyes flicker momentarily towards my car where Brittany is standing. "It won't make you happy." And with that she turns and walks away, not waiting for a response.

I stand still for a few seconds, her words echoing in my head. Suddenly I feel anger burn inside me and I glare furiously at her retreating form. Who the hell does she think she is? She doesn't know the _first_ thing about me. I turn around and storm back to my car.

"What was that about?" Brittany asks as I get into the driver's seat.

"Nothing," I snap as I slam the car door shut with more force than necessary. She sits beside me in the passenger's seat, looking at me curiously. I start the ignition, still seething. "Just Tubbers' pregnancy hormones giving her an extra dose of smug bitch today," I say viciously before reversing sharply and driving away from that damn high school.

* * *

><p>That weekend Britt and I go to the mall, deliberately not inviting Quinn. We spend an hour or two trailing around the shops and Britt sees a cute hat she likes, so I swipe it for her. Once we're at a safe distance I pull it out and give to her, smiling at the way her eyes widen and she giggles excitedly. I check the price tag and find that I could easily have just paid for it…but why bother when I can get it for free? Afterwards we head to the food court for some ice cream, both agreeing that Coach Sylvester doesn't need to know.<p>

Once we're done we get in my car, planning to head back to mine but when we're about halfway there we find ourselves in the middle of a huge traffic jam.

"Ugh, what the hell?" I mutter as we roll to a halt at the back of a long line of cars. I strain to look ahead and I can't see where the unmoving queue begins. "Great," I mumble, slumping in my seat and yanking on the handbrake. "Looks like we're stuck here for a while, Britt," I say glancing at the sky. It's getting pretty dark already and it's started to rain. I reach over and turn on the radio. Noticing there's a Britney song playing, I quickly change the station, knowing Britt gets depressed when she has to listen to the pop star. She smiles at me.

"Thanks." I simply nod, returning her smile. The rain starts to fall harder and she shivers. "I'm cold." She reaches over and turns up the heating to its maximum. It's a bit too warm for my liking but I don't bother saying anything, just turn back to staring out the window.

After a few minutes we still haven't moved and she sighs. "This is totally boring."

"Mmm," I mumble in agreement. The heat is making me drowsy and I lean my head back, trying to keep my eyes open. After a moment I notice she's still watching me and I glance over. She's shifted closer and she has that _look_ in her eye. Crap. One of her hands drifts over and settles on my knee and I curse myself for wearing a skirt. My eyes dart down to where she's touching me then flicker back to her face. She's biting her lip a little and her eyes run over my body once.

"I can think of something we could do to pass the time…" she says quietly, smirking slightly. I swallow and say nothing. Normally I'd just walk away from her in this situation but now I don't have anywhere to go. I'm stuck here with her in this warm car, in the dark with her hand on my knee. She squeezes lightly, her thumb rubbing back and forth over my skin and suddenly the space feels a lot hotter. My cheeks flush and I break eye contact, staring instead straight ahead. My heart's beating twice as hard as it was a minute ago and it doesn't help when her palm slides slightly higher, moving inside my leg now. My legs instinctively drift apart ever so slightly and my eyes flutter closed. My head is spinning and I try to control my thoughts. Of course I could just tell her to stop but at this point I can't seem to bring myself to do it and I'm not even sure I want to. Her hand trailing higher up my inner thigh is turning me on and despite myself I'm suddenly longing for her to touch me.

This doesn't make _sense_. I was at Pucks just last night; it shouldn't be this easy for her to get me worked up like this. I don't understand why I _want_ this so much and it frustrates the hell out of me. It's part of the reason I'm so reluctant to get back into all this with Brittany.

But right now, with her hand disappearing under my skirt, I forget all of it. Her wandering fingers are so close and I find that my hips are straining forward ever so slightly, yearning for contact. Okay, screw it.

I snap my eyes open and turn my head to look at her lust filled eyes which are still fixed on me. She's leaning across the gap between our seats and her lips are parted slightly. I stare at them for a moment before shifting so I can reach out and pull her into me. But just as my hands meet the material of her sweater we're interrupted by three sharp raps on the window behind me. I jerk away from her, my heart leaping in my chest. Holy crap. I whirl around, my heart racing, and I feel her hand withdraw from my thigh. Some guy is standing at my window with his jacket pulled up over his head against the rain as he squints in at us. My heart still pounding, I press the button to wind the window down. Cold air rushes into the car and I feel it against my heated cheeks. Thank god it's dark and he probably couldn't see what was going on a second ago.

"Hi! Sorry if I startled you!" He shouts over the rain, smiling at us. I just stare back, trying to catch my breath after getting the fright of my life. "Just passing the message along; seems there's been some kind of accident up ahead and we're going to be delayed here for at least another half hour. Just thought I'd let you know!"

"Oh…okay. Um…thanks." I say slowly. He nods and runs back to his car as I roll the window back up. I let out a long breath, freaked out by what just happened.

"Screw this," I say. "Let's just turn back and go another way; otherwise we'll never get home." Britt nods in agreement as I execute a very risky U-turn and drive back in the direction we came from.

* * *

><p>When we finally get back to mine we start to get ready to go to a party at some senior's house. We're in a rush because that stupid traffic jam made us late getting home.<p>

When we eventually arrive at the crowded house it seems everybody's already wasted. "He-ey sexy ladies!" some fat guy by the front door bellows drunkenly as we walk up the garden path. He grabs at us as we pass him.

"Paws off, Manboobs," I hiss, slapping at his wandering hands. Brittany throws him a disgusted look as she follows behind me into the house. We head to the kitchen for a drink first, determined to catch up with everyone else. We haven't brought anything ourselves, so instead I just look through all the cupboards, until finally I find a bottle of vodka and some tequila that someone's stashed in the oven. I grin. "Bingo."

I put the vodka in my bag and pour out two tequila shots with some salt and lime. We down them quickly and I grimace as it burns my throat. Damn, that stuff tastes so nasty.

After we've done a couple more shots I put the bottle away and look around the party. It's mostly seniors here with a few lower year cheerleaders and football players. Before the whole pregnancy thing Quinn would have been here with us too, but obviously she's staying home these days. Same goes for Finn. I'm surprised to find that Puck isn't here though. He's not usually one to miss out on an awesome party like this. I glance around to see what other guys are available for me to drape myself over tonight. I catch the eye of a cute blonde guy who I think is in my math class and I throw him a flirty smile. He grins back and I make my way over to him, leaving Brittany to drink with some other Cheerios. I trip over my feet slightly and my head spins. Maybe I shouldn't have drunk all that tequila so fast. Whatever.

About an hour later I find myself sitting on the same guy's lap on the sofa sipping at a vodka and coke. He has one hand possessively on my thigh while he clutches a beer in his other one. Other than that he's completely ignoring me as he talks loudly with his friends who are beside us.

After another minute or so I realize I'm totally bored and lift myself off him to go get some more alcohol.

"Hey baby, where you goin'?" he slurs when he notices me leaving. I turn and glare at him.

"Word of advice, Blondie. Next time you end up with the hottest girl in the school on your lap, actually _pay attention_ to her. Unless you want to keep your V-card forever, that is." I smirk as his friends laugh loudly. He blushes furiously and I stalk off to the kitchen for some more tequila.

After some number of shots I leave the kitchen, suddenly feeling a lot more drunk as they all hit me at once. I stand surveying the living room and blinking away the haziness in my eyes. I spy Matt and Mike leaning against the wall and I sidle up to talk to them for a while. Now that I'm wasted, what they say seems a lot more interesting and I find myself in an animated discussion with the two of them. Matt insists that I'm not drunk enough and goes to fetch me another drink. He returns with a large cup of something that smells strongly of rum.

Eventually I turn to Mike and ask him drunkenly where Britt is; I haven't seen her since the party started. He laughs and point behind me. I turn to see her giving her usual stripper-like performance across the room and I laugh when I realize she's using one of the dance routines from Glee club. I watch for a moment as she tugs her ponytail out and tosses her hair around, eliciting some drunken cheers from the guys grouped around her. She's totally hot, I think, smiling to myself.

I turn back to Mike. "So, Chang, why don't I see _you_ showing your moves up there? Give us some of that totally sick dancing I've seen in Glee club." I poke at him playfully. He smiles and shuffles uncomfortably.

"Think I'll save it for the choir room. Don't think the guys would be too impressed if I started doing my thing right here. Thanks though." I frown and finish my drink. He's probably right to be honest. Just being a guy in Glee club makes you automatically a flaming homo in the eyes of the student body and I don't think it would help his case if he started prancing about the party…even if he does dance like a god.

Just then I feel two soft hands slide over my eyes and somebody collide with my back. I grin, knowing Britt's the only one with the guts to do that to me. "Guess who!" she giggles into my ear as she sways into me. I laugh and yank her hands down and she slides them around my waist.

"Hey Britt-Britt."

"Hey guys!" she says happily to the other two, before leaning in secretively to my ear. "Santana, it's pee-time," she whispers, giggling. I chuckle at her and excuse us to Matt and Mike. It's become a kind of ritual that we go for bathroom breaks together at these things. It's a good chance to catch up and gossip about the party and what scandals are taking place. Not to mention the fact that Britt sometimes needs help getting her clothes back on properly.

We stumble upstairs because the downstairs bathroom has become totally gross and there's no way I'm peeing in there. We bust through the door, chatting animatedly. She's pretty drunk already and I suddenly realize that I'm not much better as I slide to the floor, leaning against the wall. The room blurs and lurches around me and I laugh and talk loudly without meaning to.

"So Britt, what the hell have you been up to? I feel like I've not seen you in like, a million hours!" She laughs and gets up to wash her hands.

"Well…" She thinks. "I was making out with this guy for a while, then I got bored and made out with his friend instead. He went away though so I went to the garden and was fooling around with some guy from the hockey team for like an hour…" I laugh, dragging myself up from the floor.

"Wow, Britt. You're sure hooking up a hell of a lot tonight," I say, grinning and walking to the mirror to stand beside her.

"What?" She smiles. "I like kissing people." She pauses for a moment as if thinking about something. "And I really like kissing _you, _Santana," she says. "But you never want to make out with me anymore." She looks a little forlorn as she says this and I suddenly feel guilty. I never wanted her to think she wasn't hot enough for me or something.

"No, Britt, I do; you're totally hot, seriously," I ramble as I rub her shoulders reassuringly. She looks at me sadly.

"But…it's like…we used to do it all the time but now you always say no. I don't get it. I thought you liked it when we fool around." I sigh as I try to think of a way to explain this properly. I'm not even sure I understand it myself.

"I do like it, Britt. A lot. It's just like…I don't wanna be like, doing it all the time, y'know?" She frowns in confusion. "What I mean is I don't wanna make it a habit, something we do too much, if you get me. 'Cause you're like, totally my best friend." I don't think I'm making much sense. I'm trying to speak faster than I can think about my words and I realize I just sound stupid.

"If you don't wanna make out it's fine, Santana, but I just don't understand what the problem is. Like, if I like it and you like it then why shouldn't we? It doesn't make any sense to me." I sigh in frustration.

"Yeah, well, not much does," I snap. She looks hurt and I immediately regret it. "Crap, sorry Britt, I'm such a bitch. I didn't mean that, please just ignore it." I panic, hoping she's not mad. She shrugs, not meeting my eyes. I give her a big hug to make up for it. "I'm just really freakin' wasted right now, don't even listen to anything I say." She giggles into me and I sigh in relief. I pull away and smirk at her. "Now, how about we get back down there and get our drink on some more?" She grins and claps her hands excitedly. Before we leave I turn to my reflection to check I still look hot. I reach up and tug my hair free so it tumbles around my shoulders and matches hers, deciding I look sexier that way. Just as I go to open the door I glance at Brittany and stop, laughing. I reach for her skirt and pull up her zipper for her and she giggles.

"Thanks, Santana. I forget these things." I grab her pinky and I pull her out the door with me.

"No problema, Britt. Now let's go get us some of that vodka."

We have some more shots which make my head spin out of control and then Brittany drags me to dance with her. Dancing with Brittany is like, the best thing ever. She's so naturally good at it and makes it look so easy. And she doesn't step on my feet and bump into me like the guy beside us keeps doing. She just loses herself, dancing away in her own little world but still managed to look totally hot. It's fascinating to watch and I find myself staring at her as I dance beside her. Damn, I wish I could move like that.

Of course I'm not the only one watching her and boys crowd around us, trying to get in to dance with us. Eventually we find ourselves dancing with a pair of guys who look like seniors. My guy is feeling me up shamelessly, his hands on my ass under my Cheerios skirt. He clutches me to him and kisses me hungrily. I kiss him back for a while but people keep bumping into us so I pull away and drag him outside to the back porch, where some other kids are either smoking or making out. I notice Brittany pulling her guy outside behind us and smirk. Seems great minds think alike.

I push him into a corner and kiss him again, sliding my hands over his chest and letting him grope my breasts. He's not a bad kisser actually; I guess being a senior he'll have had a lot of practice. I lose myself in making out with him and I have no idea how long we're there for, the alcohol I've drunk consuming my senses and overpowering my ability to think straight.

Suddenly someone grabs my shoulder and yanks me off him, yelling "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" I turn to see an older Cheerio staring furiously at me. "That's _my_ boyfriend you're macking with, _bitch_!" she snaps, and she shoves me back. It takes me by surprise and I stumble back a few steps before steadying myself. Oh, she did _not_ just push me. I narrow my eyes and take a step towards her.

"Well you're obviously a pretty crappy girlfriend if he has to come crawling to me to make him feel good," I sneer, then give her a harder shove.

"More like you couldn't keep your hands off you _slut_!" she retaliates, giving me another hard shove.

"Get you're freakin' hands off me!" I hiss, and step forward, slapping her hard across the face. She shrieks and clutches at her cheek. People are watching now, guys nearby laughing and cheering. She lunges at me, clawing at my face and pulling my hair. "Ugh, stupid bitch!" I fight to push her off me and pull her hair, kicking at her shins. I surge forward and shove her hard against the wall of the house, pinning her there. I'm about to deliver another hard slap to serve the bitch right for thinking she can touch me, when I feel arms wrap firmly around mine and pull me off her. It's Brittany, shouting my name and I struggle against her hold, trying to get back at the other Cheerio. She tries to step towards me but some guy grabs her too and we're kept apart. Brittany tugs me away with the help of a senior from the Cheerios and as I'm dragged away I spit out "That's how we do it in Lima Heights Adjacent!" That'll teach her to mess with me again.

I'm pulled inside and into the kitchen, where I finally stop struggling. Brittany leans me against the counter and the other girl shoots me a disapproving look before disappearing. "Santana, what happened?" Brittany asks, sounding alarmed. "Are you okay?" Suddenly the lights in the kitchen feel way too bright and the room is spinning and making my head ache. I start to lose my balance and Brittany catches my elbow, holding me up.

"Mmm…I don't feel so good…" I mumble as I screw my eyes shut, trying to make the world stop racing around me.

"Let's leave," I hear her say and I nod in agreement, which just makes me feel like my head is going to explode. I suddenly feel overwhelmed by everything and start crying uncontrollably. I don't really stop to think why. She wipes away my tears and puts an arm around me to help me walk, I cling to her body as we stumble out the house, desperately trying not to fall over. Once we're outside we convince some boy to give us a ride and he drives us to Britt's house. I sit in the back with my head in her lap as she strokes my hair. It's soothing and makes the bumpy car ride bearable. I've finally stopped weeping but my stomach aches.

The guy drops us off and drives away after making sure Britt we'll be okay getting inside. He seems like a sweet guy. Why can't all boys be like that? I try to voice these thoughts to Britt but it just comes out a jumble of nonsense and speaking makes me feel terrible. She eventually manages to pull me upstairs after a lot of noise and stumbling about. As soon as we're in her room I suddenly release her and run wildly to her bathroom. I throw open the door and fall to the floor on my knees, throwing up violently into the toilet. Just in time. I cough and choke and there's tears streaming down my face. My stomach clenches painfully and my hair falls into my eyes. Brittany comes in and flops down beside me, murmuring words of comfort. She gently pulls my hair back with her fingers, keeping it out my face as I cough and splutter over the toilet. God, I feel like hell. My throat is burning and I can barely breathe. She strokes my hair and watches sympathetically as I get the last of it out my system. I pull back slightly, panting and suddenly my head is aching worse than ever.

"Ugh…" I groan as she pulls me close, cradling me into her chest. Thank god for Brittany. After a moment she stands and grabs a tissue and fills a glass of water. She kneels back down beside me and wipes at my mouth gently, before lifting the water to my lips. It's cold and refreshing as it slips down my throat and I swallow it down greedily.

We sit there for who knows how long before she gently encourages me to stand up. It makes my head start pounding in agony again but I let her pull me to my feet. I brush my teeth and she flushes the toilet before we head back into her room. She sits me on the bed and I fall sideways wanting nothing more but to curl up and sleep.

"Santana," she whispers. "You're going to need to get up to get changed. You can't sleep in your uniform." I groan and drag myself up again, my head lolling forward. I must look a right mess but I feel so awful that I don't even care. She stands in front of me and gently pulls my clothes off, feeding my limbs into some pajamas for me. As soon as I'm dressed I collapse onto the bed again, my head hitting the pillows like it's made of lead. The sounds of her moving around and getting ready for bed around me are distant and muffled. I feel the lights snap off and a second later she crawls into bed with me. She pulls me close and presses a small kiss to the back of my neck. "Good night, Santana," she whispers. "I hope you feel better in the morning."


	15. Chapter 15

In the morning consciousness gradually creeps in and for a long time I don't think about where I am or why. I just lie there completely motionless because I know if I try to move at all my head will ache and spin. It's like my body doesn't even belong to me.

Eventually something shifts beside me, connecting my brain to my body with a jolt and suddenly everything comes flooding back. The party, all those shots of vodka and tequila, that boy, fighting with that girl, puking in Brittany's toilet…and I remember where I am. Oh, god. My mouth is impossibly dry and my tongue feels like sandpaper. My head throbs painfully when I shift my head just slightly. Brittany is beside me, her limbs wrapped around me and my head buried in her chest. I can't help but let out a low groan. I screw my eyes shut, trying to get back to that blissful state I was in before, where I couldn't feel this torture on my body. I press my face further into her, inhaling her familiar smell. I can feel her steady breathing as her soft breasts rise and fall slowly against me. I wind my arms around her middle and cling to her, trying to drown in her soft warmth and get back to sleep.

After maybe a couple hours more of fitful sleep, Brittany stirs beside me and slowly wakes up. "Morning," she mumbles sleepily, rubbing her fingers over my shoulder.

"Nnngh…" I simply groan into her chest in response. She moves her hands up and threads her fingers into my hair, massaging my head gently. It feels amazing and makes the pain disappear instantly. I hum contentedly and we lie there for a while as she continues to run her fingers over my scalp. I suddenly remember our conversation in the bathroom and cringe. If I had been sober I never would have been so forward with her. It just seemed like a perfectly normal discussion at the time. I put it out of my head, hoping she doesn't remember.

Eventually I pull back a little and look up at her. "I need some water," I say, my voice coming out weak and hoarse.

"Okay," she says softly and extracts herself from me, padding over to the bathroom. I try not to move as I lie there with my eyes closed, listening to her fill a cup and pad back over. I heave myself up to a sitting position and she kneels beside me, helping me gulp down the water without spilling any. I finish the whole thing and she sets the cup back down the nightstand. "Do you want something to eat?" she asks. I shake my head, the thought making me want to throw up all over again. I lay back down, my eyes drifting shut.

"I just want to lie here…" I mumble, wanting to drift back to sleep and not wake up until I've stopped feeling like death.

"We can do that then," she replies, lying down beside me and snuggling into me again. She returns to rubbing my head gently. I relax into her touch and eventually feel myself drifting back to something resembling sleep.

We spend the day in her bedroom; me buried in pillows and blankets and her tending to my needs as I drift in and out of consciousness. Every now and then the sick churning feeling in my stomach will twist and grow until I have to jump up and run to the bathroom, only to dry heave emptily over the toilet. After the third or fourth time I can say with some conviction that I'm never drinking again. Nothing is worth this.

By early evening I'm feeling a little better and manage to pull myself up to a sitting position. My head still feels a little tender but as long as I stay still it doesn't ache anymore. Brittany disappears downstairs around six o'clock and comes back up with some soup her mom made for us. I manage to finish it, keeping it down and it makes me feel so much better. We stick on a DVD and tuck ourselves back into bed to watch it.

I look outside, seeing how dark it is already and I haven't even dressed myself today. I suddenly feel guilty for staying in bed all day like a slob and having Brittany tend to my hangover. I lay my head on her shoulder. "Thanks for taking care of me, Britt-Britt. You didn't have to y'know; you could have kicked me out hours ago." She smiles and leans into me.

"It's okay, Santana; I don't mind. I mean, that's what best friends are for, right?" I grin and tuck myself into her body, getting comfortable. I turn my attention to the movie she put on and everything feels like it's back to the way it should be.

* * *

><p>The next day we have a Glee club meeting before Cheerios practice. I'm feeling my usual self again after a good night's sleep and Brittany and I arrive in the choir room a few minutes early. Clustered round the piano are Mercedes, Kurt and the Asian chick. They're so caught up in their gossiping that they don't notice us entering and I as we walk past them I hear Mercedes whisper "Puck told me himself." When I hear this I stop short and turn around.<p>

"Told you what?" I say sharply, making them jump. I can't think of any possible reason why Puck would be talking to her about anything at all and I want to know. She throws an uneasy glance to the other two, who shrug. "C'mon Aretha, you can tell me. Besides, that boy belongs to _me_ and any of his business is _my_ business. So spit it out." She sighs in resignation, probably realizing that she _has_ to tell me now.

"Well…alright, but keep this on the down low, okay? It's Quinn's baby…" She pauses dramatically and looks around. "It's not Finn's. It's Puck's. He's the real baby-daddy." I stare back at her. What the hell is she talking about? Is that true? Puckerman has been nailing the chastity queen?

"What?" I snap back. "How is that even possible?" She looks a bit nervous. Brittany is wide-eyed beside me.

"Apparently she slept with him once when she was dating Finn. He doesn't have any idea; he thinks he knocked her up in a hot tub. Poor guy," Kurt says. I tune him out and go to sit down away from them. Brittany follows me wordlessly, eyeing me as I sit in stony silence.

"Are you okay?" she asks quietly.

"I'm fine," I say angrily, making the lie obvious. I'm not fine. I have no idea why but this Puckerman thing bothers me. I was dating him when Quinn got pregnant which means he must have screwed her behind my back. But then I can hardly sit and be mad about that when I wasn't exactly faithful to him either. There's a tense silence between Brittany and me.

"I just don't understand why he had to go to _her_," I finally spit out venomously, staring at the floor. "I mean, he was getting it from me whenever he wanted; what's she got that's so _special_? That I don't have?" She squeezes my knee reassuringly and I suddenly feel stupid. Stupid and humiliated because of Puckerman. My cheeks burn as I watch Quinn and Finn stroll into the choir room, looking all happy and in love. Ugh, what a joke. Soon after follows Puck and I see it now, the way he looks after the pair with resentment and jealousy. How did I not notice before? I narrow my eyes and fold my arms. Whatever. He can have her. I don't even care.

* * *

><p>We walk into Britt's bedroom, tossing our cheer bags into the corner and falling onto her bed. We just finished one of the worst Cheerios practices ever and my body is aching all over. Coach yelled at me when I showed up because I didn't have my Cheerios jacket with me; I lost it at that damn party on Saturday. She made me pay for a new one then run laps in the dark after practice until I could barely breathe. And to top it all off it was pouring with rain the whole time. I lie on my back, frustrated and sore.<p>

"Ugh, this has been the worst freakin' day!" I say angrily, cursing Puckerman and Quinn Fabray and Coach Sylvester. "My muscles are killing me." Brittany stares at my limbs, looking confused. "Not literally, Britt," I sigh. "Get the heat rub." She obeys, disappearing to her bathroom. I reluctantly lift myself up and pull off my shirt and skirt as she returns. She kneels in the middle of her bed opening up the box.

"Give me your leg," she directs, dragging my thigh onto her lap. I lean back with my arms stretched out behind me as she rubs the cream into my leg, massaging firmly with her fingertips. It's icy cold and soothes the fire in my muscles before fading to a relaxing warmth.

"Ugh, that's totally amazing," I say with my eyes shut. I give her my other leg and she repeats her actions, working the heat rub into my sore thigh with her hands. I relax completely at the sensation, feeling relief from the fiery ache. My breathing gradually slows and my head tilts back.

After a couple of minutes she continues to massage my leg even though all cream has disappeared. I don't stop her though because the feeling of her fingers digging into my skin over and over feels so good and makes me forget all about how much I hate Coach Sylvester. I sigh contentedly as she continues her ministrations. I feel her hands work their way up from my knee, moving higher and higher. My eyes flicker open as her fingers travel just a bit further up than usual, grazing the bottom of my _Spankies_. She digs her thumbs into the skin there, kneading and pressing into my muscles, making me gasp. My heart jumps a little as she continues, moving slower now. I start feeling a warmth that has nothing to do with the heat rub. I glance at her face and see her gaze fixed on her hands, her lips parted slightly.

"C-can you do my back?" I say quietly. My voice sounds low and strange. She glances at me as if she had forgotten I was here. She nods and releases my leg, reaching for the heat rub. I turn slowly and sit with my back to her, waiting expectantly. After a moment I feel her hands start working the cream into my shoulders and the back of my neck, where it aches the most. She spreads it down my back and rubs it into the sore spots where the other Cheerios were standing and kneeling on me.

My eyes drift shut and I lose myself in the sensation of her hands moving over my bare skin and the warmth flooding through me. She moves them down to my hips and rubs her thumbs in circles over my lower back. She works her up from there and I feel my back arching slightly at her touch. By the time her fingertips are grazing the sides of my breasts I'm breathing faster and I realize she can probably hear it. She moves her hands higher, massaging my shoulder blades, then I feel her fingers sliding under my bra strap, easing it just off my shoulder so the skin is bare. She repeats it with the other strap then places a hand on each shoulder, kneading and squeezing gently. It feels amazing and my head falls back slightly, a small sigh escaping my lips. "You're so good at that, Britt," I breathe. She says nothing but I feel her shift closer and I can sense her warmth behind me, her breath tickling the back of my neck. One of her hands slides up and gently tugs my hair out of its tight ponytail, teasing it loose with her fingertips. Her hands then bury themselves underneath it, rubbing the soreness from my neck before returning to my shoulders. Her fingers feel hot against my skin as they flex back and forth, stretching all the way down to reach the tops of my breasts and digging in deep. She must be able to feel my heart pounding in my chest. The heat rub lies forgotten beside us.

Her hands start moving and they travel all over, massaging my spine and hips and sliding around to work over my stomach muscles, which tighten slightly when her fingers dip as low as the top of my underwear. She moves her hands up, pressing into my ribs slightly and lingering under my bra. I don't realize how much I'm leaning back into her until I feel her pressing against my back. Her breath is suddenly on my neck and her mouth at my ear as she fingers the material of my bra.

"Can I take this off?" She whispers softly. I hesitate for a moment, breathing heavily. Suddenly I can feel the ache between my legs and how wet I am under my _Spankies._

"Yeah," I say breathlessly after a second. Let's face it; this stopped being a friendly massage a long time ago.

Her fingers slip around to unhook the bra and I extend my arms so she can drag it off. She strokes my hair, pushing it away from my neck and draping it over one shoulder. Then she leans down and takes my now exposed earlobe between her lips, nipping lightly, as her hands slide slowly under my arms to cup my breasts. I gasp and feel my mouth fall open as my head tilts back into her and my back arches. Her hands caress softly as her tongue flicks over and around my earlobe, the skin growing wet under her mouth. My body feels like it's on fire. "You smell good…" she murmurs softly as her lips travel down, gently kissing and sucking on the skin of my neck. Her palms drag over my nipples which have grown hard under her touch and she rubs at them with her fingertips, rolling and finally pinching gently.

"Uh!" I cry out at the sensation, my chest pushing forwards into her touch. I try to control my racing thoughts. This has already gone so much further than I ever intended it to. I told myself I wasn't going to let anything like this happen again…but holy crap it just feels so _good, _and now I've started it's going to be so hard to stop. As I battle with my thoughts Brittany drags her lips back to my ear and I can hear her labored breathing loud and clear, cutting through my internal monologue.

"You're so hot," She breathes seductively into my ear, pinching my nipples again gently and that's when I feel all my resolve crumble instantly. Unable to help myself, I turn my head, winding a hand behind her neck to pull her in and connect our lips in a passionate kiss.

As soon as our lips touch I forget everything I was thinking about a moment ago. Her lips taste like candy and I can't get enough of their soft smoothness. I kiss her hard and fast and she reciprocates with just as much enthusiasm. I twist in her arms so I can kiss her fully, both my hands sliding up immediately to yank out her ponytail and tangle in her blonde curls.

She gasps and giggles into me as I push myself onto her, straddling her hips and stroking my tongue in her mouth. My hips grind down into her in some attempt to satisfy the growing urge between my legs and one of my hands reaches for her breast, squeezing through her Cheerios top. I pull back.

"Off," I say, my voice heavy with lust. She quickly complies, pulling it over her head with my help, then takes her bra off too. I reluctantly get off her so she can remove her skirt but as soon as it's off I reach for her again, pulling her in close and pushing both of us down into the bed.

My hand cups and massages her now bare breast and I bend to kiss the other one, my tongue sliding over her hardening nipple. She gasps and clutches my head to her chest, her body twisting in pleasure underneath me.

After a minute I detach my mouth, rising to kiss her neck instead, burying my face in her skin. My hand travels down to her _Spankies_ and I don't hesitate before sliding it inside and dragging my fingers through the wetness I find there. A second later I'm surprised to feel her hand slipping in between us to reciprocate my actions and I gasp. It's just what I need though and my hips rock into her hand, desperate for more contact. It's been too long. I don't waste anytime in lowering my fingers to her entrance and pushing inside with two fingers as she does the same to me. I lift my torso up off her and we both gasp and pant, moving against each other. I slide my fingers in and out slowly but getting faster each time, pushing deeper with each thrust. I move my hips up and down onto her hand, relishing the way her fingers fill me up and cause an icy pleasure to spread inside me. I'm pumping my fingers in and out quickly now, and every time I push in her hips rock forward. Suddenly she pulls out and then presses back in with three fingers, startling me. I cry out and my head throws itself back, my mouth hanging open. My hand's motions falter slightly as I still my hips and adjust to the addition.

After a moment I keep moving, and press another finger into her as well. It's a tight fit and I push in slowly, letting her grow accustomed to the sensation. Every time her fingers push into me it feels incredible, even better than with two. She presses up harder every time, going deeper and faster and pushing me closer to the edge. I mirror her actions and she's moaning now, her frantic thrusts indicating her pleasure. Her fingers twist and curl inside me and I force my hips down onto her hand as my orgasm hits me. "Ungh, Britt!" I cry out as my back arches in ecstasy. I push my fingers into her hard and my thumb comes up to rub on her clit frantically. She comes just seconds after me, moaning loudly and pushing her hips up into me desperately. We rock against each other for a few more seconds as we ride it out, my hand still stroking inside her and rubbing her clit.

Eventually we both stop moving and I fall forward onto her chest, my head resting on her collarbone. For a few seconds my mind is completely blank and we just lie there, panting heavily.

"Wow," she finally says.

"Yeah…" I agree hoarsely, thinking that she said it all really. That was amazing. I mean, holy crap. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to give _that_ up. I tell myself now that I'm never going to deny myself sex that good ever again. The whole thing was stupid really; I was freaking out over nothing. Britt and I are fine; doing this kind of stuff doesn't change our friendship at all.

"Let's just hope your mom didn't hear any of that," I say with a smirk. She giggles softly.

I roll off her and lie beside her, suddenly feeling exhausted. It's been a totally crappy day and now I'm completely drained of energy. Brittany seems to feel the same way and reaches over to switch off the lamp on her nightstand, leaving us in darkness. I pull back her sheets and crawl underneath them, feeling her do the same beside me. I'm already half asleep when her hands snake around my waist and rest on my stomach. I place mine on top of them and despite having the worst past few days I've ever had in my life, I feel a smile on my lips as I drift off to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm not entirely sure what, but something wakes me in the middle of the night. My eyes flick open and I suddenly feel wide awake. I have the feeling that maybe I just had a dream but can't remember anything about it. I blink in the silent darkness and remember that I'm naked except for my _Spankies_ and Brittany is lying in a similar state beside me. I slowly sit up and glance over at the glowing red numbers of the clock on the night stand. It's five past two in the morning. I don't feel tired at all. I sit there for a minute hugging my knees and trying to figure out the weird feeling that's settled over me.

Eventually I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand up. I pad over to the bathroom and switch the light on, closing the door behind me. I stand still and stare into the mirror above the sink, the only sound the faint humming from the fan. I look at my reflection for what feels like hours but is probably only a minute or so.

I feel different somehow. It's uncomfortable...unsettling. I look at myself and feel like I don't recognize what I see. It's like I'm looking at myself from another person's point of view. Instead of Santana Lopez, HBIC of McKinley and smoking hot cheerleader, staring back at me from the mirror is just some young girl, looking scared and lost. Her body is slumped in defeat and her hair hangs limply around her thin shoulders.

Is this what other people see when they look at me? Is this why Puck ran off to nail Quinn, instead of this broken mess before me? Is this why Coach Sylvester _still_ hasn't made me head cheerleader, despite me breaking my back every day to make her notice me? Hell, I don't blame them. This girl looks weak and pathetic. She's nothing. I look down at the reflection of my body. My eyes run up my small frame and I pinch at my thin hips, wishing they were sexier. My gaze rises to my breasts. Not big enough. I run my hands over them, hating how they lie flat on my chest. I think of Quinn's, getting bigger every day from her pregnancy and grimace.

I place my hands on the edge of the sink and lean forward, peering into the face of the girl opposite me. Dark eyes stare back in confusion, brow furrowed slightly. I tilt my face left and right, examining the curve of her jaw and shape of her cheekbones. Are they symmetrical? Is her nose straight?

Finally I run my hands through my hair, letting it flop back down lifelessly onto my shoulders. It's not soft and falling into perfect waves like Quinn's. I swallow and tear my eyes away from my reflection, sickened by what I see. I turn the light off so I don't have to look.

It's easier in the dark and I feel calmer. I stand in the same position for a few moments before opening the door and stepping back inside Brittany's room. I tiptoe to her drawers and find some shorts and one of her big t-shirts to cover myself. As I crawl onto the bed she rolls over sleepily towards me. "Come back to bed…" she mumbles, eyes still closed and arms reaching out and hugging air. I kneel on the edge of the mattress and stare at her for a few long seconds. I take in her flowing blonde hair and perfect features and wonder what she sees when she looks at me. It's not what Puck or Matt or Quinn or Coach Sylvester sees.

I slide under the sheets beside her and let her arms curl around my stomach. She wiggles closer to me and nuzzles into my neck, sighing in her sleep. I close my eyes and feel my panic recede slightly. At least I'll always be good enough for Brittany.

* * *

><p>A few days later things are more or less back to normal. I'm still kind of pissed at Puck and I never miss a chance to shoot a glare in Quinn's direction but I've come to terms with the whole baby situation. It's pretty much the last thing on my mind when Berry approaches me and Brittany in the corridor and starts pestering us with her suspicions about Puck.<p>

"Santana?" I stiffen at my locker. I've been vaguely aware of her annoying presence near me for a while but is she actually talking to _me_? "May I have a word? It's important." I glance behind me as if there's another Santana she might be addressing. I close my locker slowly and turn to glare at her, folding my arms. Brittany comes to stand next to me, doing the same. "Brittany, you should probably listen to this too as the issue I wish to discuss concerns everyone in the Glee club.

"Get to it, Dwarf." I snap. "We don't have all day. This better be good." She seems slightly taken aback.

"Well there's no need for that tone." I roll my eyes. "It's about Quinn's baby." She pauses and I exchange a look with Britt. Apart from Finn, Rachel's the only one in the club who hasn't been told that Puck is the father. We all know of her pathetic crush on Frankenteen and if she finds out, the first thing she'll do is run and tell him everything. "I've noticed Puck has been acting strange around her recently and he seems to care an awful lot about Finn's unborn child. Don't you think it's weird?" I narrow my eyes and say nothing. Brittany shrugs. She peers at us as if trying to gauge our reactions. "The truth is," she continues, "I'm a little psychic. And my instincts are telling me that something strange is going on there." She lowers her voice as if Quinn is standing behind us, listening in. "I'm concerned that Finn may not be the father of the baby after all." I stare back at her, trying to look indifferent.

"Okay, this conversation is over," I state, brushing past her and moving down the corridor, Brittany keeping up beside me. She scurries after us.

"Guys, my instincts are never wrong! And this affects you too, Santana; after all you are in a relationship with Puck, are you not? Haven't you noticed the way he acts around Quinn?" We ignore her, walking briskly away and she eventually stops chasing us, looking huffy. After a moment I glance behind me to check she's a safe distance away.

"Crap! She totally knows!" I hiss to Brittany. "Who the hell told her?" I narrow my eyes in suspicion. "Was it you?"

"No," she responds. "You told me never to talk to her." That's true.

"It must have been one of those other Glee losers." I take out my phone, indicating to Brittany to do the same. We join the party line with Mercedes, Tina, Kurt and Artie.

"We just heard. Who told?" I ask them angrily.

"We assumed it was you." It's that stupid wheelchair kid. Is he an idiot? I hardly ever even _talk_ to Rachel Berry, let alone tell her incriminating secrets about Puck.

"Why would I do _that_?" I snap.

"To get back at Puck," the gay kid replies immediately. "Aren't you guys dating?" Okay, why the hell does everyone seem to think that Puck and I are an item?

"_Sex_ is not dating," I respond impatiently. Honestly, these geeks are so clueless. I mean, don't they have any idea how many boyfriends I would have if it were?

"If it were, Santana and I would be dating," Brittany says. I stop walking and glance at her, cringing slightly. She's right of course but I don't want the world knowing that we're hooking up. I probably should have remembered to tell her to keep it to herself. She looks back at me confused. There's an awkward silence on the phone. Ugh, thanks a lot, Britt. I recover and start moving again. Whatever; it's just a few Glee freaks. I ignore Britt's outburst and continue.

"Look; I don't wanna rock the boat. Since Quinn got pregnant, I'm top dog around here." It's true. Now that Quinn's off the Cheerios I'm enjoying the benefits of the reputation she's lost and I'm not about to risk losing all of that just to stir up trouble in the Glee club. Not to mention that Finn will flip out if he finds out and I don't think any of us can be bothered dealing with his hissy fit. Just then Mercedes cuts me off because Man-hands is passing her in the corridor but I think they get the idea. I'm not taking the blame for it if Berry spills the beans.

Brittany looks at me as Mercedes talks and I throw her an irritated glance, still slightly miffed about her comment a moment ago. She listens blankly and I briefly wonder if she even has any idea what this whole conversation is about. I hang up, done talking to all of them. If they didn't tip off Berry about Puck and Quinn I guess she really must have figured it out by herself, which is pretty _creepy_. What is she, some kind of private investigator? It's not like it's obvious.

* * *

><p>Later that day, in Glee club, Mr. Schuester shows up with Miss Pillsbury, informing us that she'll be taking us to sectionals in his place. It's kind of weird; she's a guidance counselor. You'd think he could have found us somebody a bit more musical. Then again, she probably volunteered because she wants in his pants so bad. It's painfully obvious…even if she <em>is <em>engaged to Coach Tanaka, for whatever reason.

I look on in mild alarm as Mr. Schuester launches into a long over-emotional speech about how sad he is to leave us for sectionals, acting like somebody's died. Dramatic, much?

"Alright, guys." I roll my eyes as he drifts sadly out of the room like he'll never see us again. The others start planning our set list and Mercedes gets into an argument with Berry over who gets to sing the ballad. It _would_ be nice to have Man-hands out of the spotlight for once…she doesn't exactly do much for the team's image. We settle back to hear Mercedes perform and I must admit; she totally kicks ass. I stand and clap with everyone else, impressed. See, why do we always have to have the hobbit singing all the solos? That was way better than anything I've ever heard _her_ scream out. Even Berry has to admit that Mercedes sounded awesome and agrees to let her sing at sectionals. Thank god.

When the Glee meeting ends we hang about for a few minutes, chatting to Mike and Matt while everyone gathers their stuff. I'm just pretending to laugh at one of Matt's jokes when we're all suddenly distracted by Finn running in and shouting.

"Puck!" he yells across the room, fists clenched at his side as he strides forward. Oh man; he looks _really_ pissed. Berry hovers anxiously behind him. "Is this true?" he shouts, stopping in front of Puck. "That you…" he gestures wildly at Quinn. "_You're _the father?" My eyes widen. Well, so much for Finn not finding out. He stares in disbelief at Puck as he waits for him to respond. Puck looks back at him looking cornered and throws a nervous glance to Quinn. She looks just as guilty as he does. Nobody speaks for a tense few seconds.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dude," Puck finally replies, not meeting his eyes. This just seems to enrage Finn even more and he launches himself onto Puck, pushing him to the floor.

"You're lying!" he screams and hits him as hard as he can. He does it again, punching him right in the face over and over. We all stand watching in horror. I knew Finn wouldn't be happy if he found out but this is pretty damn intense. I mean, somebody should probably do something. Everybody just looks too scared to move, as if they're afraid Finn will turn his flailing fists on them.

Eventually Mr. Schuester appears with Miss Pillsbury to save the day and drags Finn off him. Mike and Matt hold him back as Mr. Schuester stands between them, trying to sort things out. I think it'll take a bit more than one of his inspirational pep talks to fix this.

Turns out Berry couldn't keep her mouth shut as usual and went and blabbed to Finn. He yells at us some more then storms out of the choir room. There's an awkward silence before Puck and Quinn leave in opposite directions. The rest of us start to recover from the shock of what just happened and slowly gather our stuff. Tina and Mercedes are already whispering excitedly to each other as they walk through the door. I grab Britt's pinky and as we leave I throw a glare at Berry, who's still standing frozen in the middle of the room, arms folded across her chest. "Nice going, Yentl," I snap before dragging Brittany out the door with me.

* * *

><p>Later that evening I'm hanging at Britt's as we wait for the latest episode of Sue's Corner to come on. She's lying on her stomach beside me, legs kicked up in the air behind her. She watches, grinning, as some dumb news piece about a cat fashion show plays on the screen. I roll my eyes. The girl is obsessed.<p>

"So, Britt-Britt," I say, snapping my fingers in front of her face to get her attention. "I wanted to talk to you about something." She manages to tear her eyes away from the animals on the screen and turns her attention to me. I hesitate, trying to find the best way to explain what I want to say. "I wanted to talk to you about…how we need to keep certain things a _secret._" I pause and she frowns in confusion.

"Santana, I already told you, I never told Rachel anything about Puck." I shake my head.

"No, I'm not talking about that. It's just…well, you know how we sometimes fool around…and stuff?" She smiles and nods.

"It's fun." She remarks. I smile back.

"Totally. But just, like…don't go telling people about it okay?" I say, hoping she gets it. She stares at me blankly.

"Why not?" I sigh in frustration.

"Because, Britt…" I struggle for a moment. "It's, like…_private_. Just between us."

"Oh." She says, then falls silent, looking deep in thought. "Wait, so…are you talking about earlier? On the phone?" I smile and nod.

"Yeah. Exactly. Don't do that again, please."

"Okay." She looks guilty. "Sorry, Santana. I'll tell them I lied. Like when Jacob Ben Israel lied to everyone about having sex with me when really we just made out." I laugh and wave a hand dismissively.

"Don't bother. It's just a bunch of _Glee_ kids; I don't give a crap what they think. Just don't go telling anyone who matters, okay?"

"Okay, I won't," she agrees, smiling. I pat my knees and she rolls over so her head is in my lap. I pull her hair out and run my fingers through it, dragging lightly over her scalp the way she likes. For a few moments we watch the TV in silence.

"So, Britt…why _did _you make out with Jacob Ben Israel?" I ask pulling a face. "I mean…just, gross." She giggles.

"I know he's totally not hot. But I've made out with nearly everyone at school now. I'm going for the perfect record." I stroke her hair absent mindedly as I digest this information. I smirk and resist a laugh.

"Right. Good luck with that."

* * *

><p>Finn doesn't show up to any more Glee club meetings for the rest of the week. I guess this means he's quitting the team…which leaves us high and dry for sectionals. Thanks a lot, Hudson. Looks like the club destroyed itself without any help from Coach Sylvester at all.<p>

By the time Friday comes around it's the day before the competition and we're desperate for another member, so Miss Pillsbury recruits the Jew-fro kid to make up numbers. He obviously can't sing to save himself but at least we can take part now. Not that it matters; I'm pretty sure there's no way we can win without Finn. He was supposed to be singing the male lead in "Don't Stop Believing" and we've had to replace him with Puck. He's okay, but under-rehearsed and frankly, not as good.

Safe to say, the mood is pretty crappy come Saturday morning when we're heading off to sectionals. We arrive at the venue and have to wait around for a bit before the competition starts. Turns out we're going last so we don't have to get ready for ages yet. We go in to se the Jane Addams girls perform – only to watch in horror as they perform the song Mercedes was planning on doing for the ballad. I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Will they believe it's a coincidence that we're doing the same song?

The thought vanishes from my head as soon as their next number starts up. They're doing "Proud Mary" – _another_ one of our songs – and not only that, but they're also doing it in _wheelchairs._ So much for our original idea. I sure as hell don't think this is a coincidence anymore.

There's a short break before we hear the deaf kids perform. I sit with the rest of the Glee kids feeling extremely uncomfortable. No one is speaking and Kurt keeps glowering at me like _I've_ done something wrong. And I thought morale was low this morning. We should have known those Jane Addams girls would pull something like this; they do have a reputation for stealing and cheating. At least we still have "Don't Stop Believing."

We head back in to watch Haverbrook perform and as soon as their first song starts that's the last straw. Berry is completely livid and calls an emergency meeting. Now that the other choirs have stolen all_ three_ of our chosen songs, we're going to have to come up with some kind of back-up plan.

As soon as we're in the green room Kurt rounds on me and Brittany.

"This is all _your_ fault. Admit it," he demands, glaring at us with his hands on his hips. I look back at him in disgust. How the hell is this _my_ fault?

"What the hell are you talking about?" I snap.

"You leaked the set list. You don't wanna be here; you're just Sue Sylvester's little moles!" he says. That's when Quinn stabs us in the back and tells everyone that we've been spying for Coach Sylvester. And sure; for a while we were, but this time we're innocent. I'm not gonna stand here and take the blame for something I _didn't _do.

"Look; we may still be Cheerios but neither of us ever gave Sue the set list," I say indignantly. Hell, I even _refused_ when she asked me, risking my place on the squad for this damn club.

"Well…" Brittany says quietly. "I – I did but I didn't know what she was gonna do with it." I look at her in disbelief. _Really,_ Brittany? The rest of the club sighs in frustration as she shuffles guiltily.

They continue to glare at us accusingly and I roll my eyes. Screw this. "Okay, look," I say, "believe what you want…but no one's _forcing_ me to be here." Everyone's eyes are on me now and I can't believe I'm about to say this out loud. "And if you ever tell _anyone_ this, I'll deny it…but I like being in Glee club." Some of them look stunned, others just skeptical. "It's the best part of my day, okay?" I say defensively, not meeting anyone's gaze. "I wasn't gonna go and mess it up," I finish, throwing a slightly irritated glance in Brittany's direction. I move to sit down across the room, wanting the ground to swallow me up. There's a silence as everyone digests this information. No doubt they're as surprised by my sudden confession as I am. Berry stares down at me in wonder and I meet her gaze defiantly, daring her to challenge me again.

"I believe you," she says. Damn right. She turns her attention to the rest of the group, trying desperately to come up with a plan to get us out of this mess. Like we're gonna come up with anything good in an hour. If you ask me we're screwed.

Berry volunteers to sing some mystery song from her repertoire for the first number, so none of us needs to worry about that. Quinn suggests we sing "Somebody to Love" which I guess could work, assuming we all remember how to perform it. But we don't have any other songs prepared, apart from the ones we had planned before.

Of course that's when Finn miraculously appears out of nowhere to save the day. He throws some music down on the table.

"I used the Cheerio's copier to make copies." My eyes widen. Coach won't be pleased about that_._ "And then I trashed the thing." Okay...she'll probably be a bit more pissed about _that._

He directs Brittany, Mike, Matt and I to come up with some choreography for the new song and we move to the back of the room to sort something out. He's chosen "You Can't Always Get What You Want," by the Rolling Stones; I figure it has some special meaning to him right now.

The song's fairly simple and it doesn't take us too long to figure out a routine to go with the performance. We've had to make up way more complicated ones for Cheerios so it's not too much of a challenge for me and Britt. After about forty five minutes we head off to change into our competition dresses.

The other girls head out before me and Brittany and we stand fixing our hair at the mirrors after they've left. She's biting her lip in worry and looks bothered about something. "Santana?" she says quietly, turning to me.

"Mmhmm?" I respond, staring intently at my reflection as I straighten my headband. She shuffles nervously.

"Is everyone mad at me? About the set list thing? I didn't mean it," she whispers miserably, looking at her feet. I soften, turning to face her.

"I know," I say, placing a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "It's not your fault." I think angrily of Sue Sylvester, taking advantage of Brittany's innocence to get what she wanted. I should have known she'd do that.

"Kurt said it was. And Mercedes and Tina seemed really pissed," she says, looking depressed.

"Hey," I wave a hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. No one cares 'cause now we have an awesome new song to sing instead, along with a kick ass dance routine, thanks to _us_. They can't hold it against you. And besides; if anyone says anything bad about you they'll have _me_ to answer to." She smiles slightly.

"Are you sure?" she asks nervously. I grin and link her pinky with mine.

"Of course. Now c'mon, let's get out there and win like we always do." She beams and follows me out.

Before we go on we stand behind the curtains listening to Berry perform her solo. I haven't a damn clue what song she's singing but I've got to admit she sounds pretty dope. I'm not usually a fan of hers at all but the song suits her voice and she's doing a pretty kick ass job of performing it.

We file into the auditorium on cue and move onto the stage to stand behind her. As she finishes up and we wait for the song to start I feel a slight pang of nerves. I don't usually get nervous at competitions at all but _usually_ I'm well-rehearsed. What we're doing now is crazy, we only picked this song an hour ago. What if something goes wrong? What if I screw up my singing part or the choreography doesn't work? I swallow and push the thoughts down as we start to sing. I plaster a smile onto my face, grinning broadly the way Coach Sylvester taught us to for Cheerleading competitions.

There's one moment when I accidentally stand in the wrong place and have to quickly correct my mistake, but I don't think anyone noticed. Apart from that, the performance goes off without a hitch and the audience seems to love us. Let's hope the judges do too.

While we're eavesdropping outside the judges' room the coach of the Jane Addams choir approaches us full of remorse. She says she's going to confess that they cheated to make sure they don't win but before she can they emerge, having made a decision. She shrugs awkwardly as we glare back at her. Now we'd _better_ not lose to her and those juvie girls.

The three choirs gather on the stage as they get ready to announce the winner. My nerves come back as we wait for them to read out the name of the winning choir. Considering the circumstances, we were awesome but I don't know if we were good enough to compete with the Jane Addams girls. Not to mention that the deaf kids might get the sympathy vote. Brittany clasps my hand in both of hers anxiously.

"The New Directions!" I breathe out a sigh of relief as the others all cheer loudly around me. Brittany hugs me excitedly, hopping up and down and Matt gives me a high five. I even find myself grinning at Puck before I remember to be mad at him.

* * *

><p>Once we get back to school we only have a couple of weeks until winter break. It turns out Coach Sylvester got in a lot of trouble over the whole set list thing and is suspended until further notice. As a result we don't have any Cheerios practice which is a welcome relief. The rest of the Glee club is high off our win at sectionals like it's some kind of huge achievement and we don't still have regionals and nationals to go. Mr. Schuester decides he's going to the let us relax until after the break when he's going to start preparing us for regionals, so the last couple of weeks of school are pretty easy going.<p>

As Christmas approaches I have to make the annual trip with Brittany to the mall to visit Santa. I always feel so self conscious standing there in line with all the little kids around us. I wish I had a little brother or sister or something to bring along to cover up the fact that we're actually here by ourselves.

Afterwards I walk quickly back to my car making sure nobody from school is around to have witnessed our visit to Santa's Grotto. She follows behind me grinning happily. Sometimes I think one of these days I'll just let her in on the fact that Santa is made up so I don't have to do this. But I guess it's only once a year…and even I'm not that much of a bitch.

We head back to hers to decorate her tree but I have to make a stop at the hospital where my dad works first. I leave Brittany in the car while I go inside to grab my mom's subscriptions to bring home.

Just as I'm about to leave I see a couple of girls walk past who catch my eye. They're dressed in dangerously low cut pink and white striped uniforms and knee-high socks. I turn and ask my dad who they are. He glances up from his paperwork.

"They're volunteers. They come to help out and…cheer up the patients." I look back at them as they disappear down the corridor, eying their short skirts and heels. I turn back to my dad.

"Can anyone do it?"

* * *

><p>A few minutes later I get back into the car grinning. "Guess what, Britt?" I say, tossing my mom's pills into the back seat. "I found something totally awesome for us to do over the break."<p>

For the next few weeks Brittany and I dress up in the candy striper uniforms and head to the hospital every Tuesday and Thursday evening. It's totally awesome. We look smoking hot and everyone stares at us as we walk up and down the corridors, visiting the sick patients who just can't get enough of us.

One night it's pretty quiet in the hospital and I've just delivered some flowers to an old woman who just stared at my clothing in shock as I smiled and wished her a speedy recovery. I step out of the room to meet Brittany wandering past. "Hey, Britt-Britt," I say with a smirk as I look her up and down shamelessly. I mean, seriously, what perv designed this uniform? Not that I'm complaining. "What's up?"

"Well…one of the nurses told me to get some bandages for her but I don't know where to find any."

"There'll be some in the supply closet. Follow me." I show her where it is and we step inside to look for what she needs. "Up there," I say, pointing, "on the top shelf." She walks forward and reaches up to grab some. As she stretches up the back of her skirt rides up dangerously high revealing the bottom of her panties. My eyes go wide and I stare, unable to look away. Damn; that's hot.

She places a couple of packs beside her before reaching up again to get some from further back. This time her skirt rises even higher and I bite my lip as I stare at her ass. I glance at the door and smirk, stepping forwards to where she's still rummaging on the shelf, completely oblivious.

I stop behind her and place my hands lightly on the sides of her thighs, trailing them up slowly to rest on her waist. She gasps as I press in close behind her and her hand falls down to rest on my arm.

"So…how urgent is this bandage situation anyway?" I say quietly in her ear as my fingertips dance over the material of her dress. She turns her head slightly and I can see a smile spread slowly on her face.

"Not very," she murmurs. I lean closer and press my lips to her shoulder, leaving a trail of soft kisses up her neck.

"Hmm…good," I mumble as I take her earlobe between my lips and suck gently. She hums happily and closes her eyes, tilting her head slightly to give me better access. My hands slide around to her stomach, pressing her body more firmly into me. She pushes her hips back into mine and I can't help but grind into her slowly, my breath catching slightly. I start moving my hands up gradually until finally they're resting over her breasts. I start massaging gently, squeezing them simultaneously with both hands through the thin material of her uniform. Her head falls back a little and her lips part as my palms press into her more firmly, loving the way the soft flesh feels.

I continue like this for a minute or so. I open my eyes to watch my hands, my position allowing me the perfect view down the top of her dress. The sight of my hands working at her breasts turns me on even more and I let out a quiet moan, squeezing firmly once more before sliding my hands lower. My mouth leaves her ear and travels down her neck until I can feel her racing pulse beneath my lips. I kiss and suck gently, making sure to leave a mark. She lets out a breathless moan and her hips push forward into my touch as my hands trail lower to rest on the fronts of her thighs. Her hands stroke up and down my arms lightly, her fingers leaving a delicious tingling sensation in their wake.

After a moment I slide my hands up her thighs so they drag up the front of her dress. She opens her eyes a little, smiling slightly.

"Here?" she asks breathily. I giggle into her skin and run one hand right up to the waistband of her underwear as an answer. I feel her stomach muscles tense slightly in anticipation before I slide it inside. I reach down to run my fingers up through the wetness teasingly. She moans and her eyes flicker shut again when I drag them over her clit, pressing down slightly. I start rubbing gentle circles, careful not to apply much pressure. In response her hip rock forward, straining for more contact. I grin, my tongue darting out to flick over her heated skin. Her breathing is erratic and every now and then she lets out a quiet whimper.

After a minute more of teasing her I slow my motions a little and run my other hand down the back of her thigh. I lift her leg so her foot rests on the second shelf from the bottom, giving me more room to slide my hand lower. I rub two fingers over her entrance and she leans her body back into me, breathing heavily.

Eventually I push my fingers inside firmly, causing her to gasp loudly. One of her hands shoots out to grip the edge of the shelf in front of her while the other tightens its hold on my forearm. I wait a moment, allowing her to adjust to the feeling of my fingers inside her before sliding out and pressing back in again.

I start up a rhythm and her hips follow my motions, creating friction against mine in the process and causing me to moan quietly into her ear. I remove my free hand from under her thigh and reach up to grab her breast again. I massage more roughly as I push into her with my other hand, going deeper with each thrust. A couple of packs of bandages fall to the floor from the shelf she's gripping as I push in more forcefully.

She's panting desperately now and I can tell she's close. I pull her into me as hard as I can and move my hand faster, curling my fingers inside her as I thrust in. I kiss her neck hard and her body goes rigid against me. She cries out and I press the heel of my palm into her clit as she climaxes, my fingers moving in and out quickly. A second later she's coming and whispering my name breathlessly as her hips jerk into my hand erratically. My lips slide round to the base of her neck and I bury my face in her hair, driving my fingers in deeper from the new angle.

I continue to rub my fingers inside her as she rides it out, my movements gradually growing slower. I feel a few last twitches around my hand and I eventually stop, gently pulling out. Her body slackens against me and I support her while she catches her breath, pressing a few soft kisses to her shoulder and smirking to myself. I bring my hand up and place my fingers in my mouth, tasting her on them as I clean them off. Her eyes go wide as she watches me and I resist a laugh. She finally lets go of the shelf and brings her leg back down, standing up properly. Just as I release her and step away from her we hear the door suddenly open behind us. Brittany jumps and whirls around guiltily as I turn to see one of the nurses standing at the entrance to the closet.

"There you are!" she says, looking sternly over her glasses at Brittany who is frantically smoothing her skirt down and looking panicked. I try not to laugh. "I sent you to fetch me some bandages a half hour ago! And what's all this mess on the floor?" She shakes her head and tuts disapprovingly as Brittany blushes furiously and stammers out an apology. I watch the exchange with some amusement.

"I was just helping out Britt here," I say. "Seems _somebody _sent her to get some supplies without telling her where to go. It's lucky she ran into me so I could show her where they're kept," I say, smiling sweetly at the nurse. She sighs impatiently but doesn't talk back to me. I may only be a volunteer but everyone knows that my dad's a doctor at the hospital and won't tolerate the nurses showing me any disrespect.

"Yes, well. You've found them now so come along," she says grumpily, signaling for us to follow her before disappearing. Brittany hastily bends down to scoop up the bandages from the floor before rushing after her on shaky legs, still flushed from our encounter. I grin wickedly to myself before walking out behind them, closing the door after me.


	17. Chapter 17

On the first day back at school Brittany and I head straight to our lockers to retrieve all the books we didn't bother taking home to look at over the break. Britt opens hers and I see she's left all her Christmas decorations up inside it. I roll my eyes.

"Brittany, how many times did I tell you to remember to clean all that crap out of your locker before we left?"

"I forgot," she says sheepishly, pulling down some tinsel and tucking it into her bag. "I wonder if Santa left anything for me." She reaches for the stocking hanging at the back of the locker and peers inside. She looks confused.

"Brittany…" I say uneasily. "Is it just me or is something moving in there?"

"Check it out," she says, thrusting the thing in my face. I glance inside and recoil in horror. Scrambling about inside are several brown _mice_; a family by the looks of it. Ugh, what is it with _wildlife_ in Brittany's locker?

"Ugh, _gross!_ Get that thing away from me!" She starts to poke a finger inside and I slap her hand away. "Don't touch, Britt! They probably have all kinds of gross diseases." She obeys and continues to examine the small animals without touching.

"Maybe I shouldn't have left those candies in there…"

I take Brittany outside so we can set the creatures free without having to cause a big fuss with Figgins again. I take her over to some trees and instruct her to lay the stocking down. I have no idea of they'll even survive five minutes out here but I figure they have a better chance than in the parking lot.

We head back to school and after I've ensured Britt has thoroughly washed her hands with soap we go back to her locker. She takes out her books which look slightly nibbled on so I suggest she throws them out and finds some new ones.

It turns out that over the break Sue Sylvester has somehow managed to get herself reinstated as coach of the Cheerios so practice is back on. She calls us into her office to reprimand us for our failure as spies in the Glee club and to inform us of her new plan. She's convinced that if she can tear Finn away from Berry the club will fall apart. I'm not so sure what her logic is there but as soon as she mentions head cheerleader I decide to go along with her insane scheme. I've been waiting too damn long to pass up this opportunity and seducing Finn should be a walk in the park. Especially if I'm competing with Man-hands.

Brittany and I agree to team up to tackle the assignment; I figure we have a better chance of the distracting Finn away if we use our combined hotness. And we know from past experience how all the boys are powerless before the two of us getting our mack on. We fawn over him during his basketball games and he soaks up all the attention, loving it. Finally, after he performs some song for a Glee assignment we make our move, asking him out to Breadstix. It's a scenario we're all too familiar with, except usually there're two guys and some sort of sexual favor is required of us afterwards. Thankfully Finn Hudson is innately virginal, so I doubt he'll be expecting any real action in return for dinner. As expected he can't resist our charm and immediately jumps at the chance to take us out.

Before our date Brittany comes over to mine so we can discuss our plan of action for dinner.

"We need to make him realize that dating that little troll will get him nowhere," I say matter-of-factly. She's sitting cross-legged on my bed while I do my nails. "Like, talk about how she's preventing him from being hot and popular and stuff." Not that he was ever hot without her, I think. Brittany nods in understanding.

"Totally. I mean…we are so much hotter than Rachel anyway."

"Well, obviously. But I don't think we need to worry too much about her after that little display in Glee club earlier. Looks like he's seen sense and ditched her already." Earlier in Glee we sat watching as Berry stood up and sang an angry song to Finn while he sat awkwardly in the corner. At first it was extremely irritating when she was screaming right in me and Britt's ears but as his discomfort grew it was just amusing to watch. Seriously, they make such a pathetic couple.

At dinner we wait until we've eaten to bother putting our plan in place. I make sure to send the waitress off for some free extra helpings the way I always do. Britt complains about finding a mouse in her food, obviously inspired by the discovery we made in her locker last week. Once she's gone I turn to Britt and we discuss Finn's lack of sex appeal. I make sure to mention how much hotter Puck is than him because I know it'll really get to him after the whole Quinn thing.

Once we start discussing how gross Berry is he gets all weird and mad and starts defending her. Okay, seriously, _what_ is his problem? What could he _possibly _see in that dwarf? Doesn't he want to see us make out?

Eventually his mere presence is annoying me so I banish him to wait in his car while Britt and I finish eating. After we've finished our second helping I'm extremely pissed off to discover that the idiot has just left without leaving any money or anything. What the hell? I mean, seriously, what kind of a way is that to behave? I end up having to get the bill myself, which I am _not_ happy about. I can't even remember the last time I paid for food. I don't leave a tip.

The next day I storm up to him in the corridor to confront him, Brittany hovering behind me. "What the _hell_, Frankenteen? Way to run out on the bill last night," I snap. He shifts uncomfortably. "Well, I hope you and your hobbit girlfriend are happy. Because you've certainly missed your chance with us," I say, glaring at him. He seems pissed off.

"Yeah well apparently I missed it with her too, now she's seeing that kid from Vocal Adrenaline," he says huffily, glaring at the ground. I narrow my eyes.

"What kid from vocal adrenaline?" I ask. Maybe if I indulge his whining we can get some information for Coach Sylvester to make up for the fact that we kind of sucked at seducing him.

"Some jerk called Jesse St. James. It's so obvious he's only dating her so he can mess with us before regionals. I told her it was dumb to get involved with our competition but she won't listen to me." I tune him out as I ponder this information.

When we report back to Coach Sylvester she's absolutely furious and rants at us while we do sit ups as punishment. Brittany offers up our findings concerning this Jesse St. James kid which seems to placate her slightly. She has us tell the entire Glee club about her new romance and they're just as suspicious of his motives as Finn. They're not pleased about her fraternizing with the enemy and apparently they're threatening to quit unless she breaks up with him. Which means the club will break apart and Coach Sylvester will appoint me as head cheerleader, with Brittany as my co-captain.

A few days later Finn informs us all that Berry has ended her relationship with Jesse for the sake of the team but I'm not convinced. It seems a lot like she's lying and continuing to see him in secret, which can only go unnoticed for so long. I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, if I looked like her I would take what I could get.

Sure enough; a couple of weeks later she's grossing us all out by giving us the gruesome details of her "hypothetical" relationship and seeking our advice on her sex life. The thought of Rachel Berry having sex, by the way, is definitely something I could have done without. Her whining inspires the Asian chick to start harping on about how her cripple boyfriend doesn't respect her enough and I just roll my eyes in response. Honestly, this is why I don't get involved with all that _relationship_ crap. It's so much easier to just fool around with whoever you think is hot; no strings attached. And if you know what you're doing, which I do, it's easy to have the boys wrapped around your finger in no time. Then you have all the power. I mean, come on, do you see me sitting whining pathetically over some boy who's hurt my feelings?

Lately Coach has been on some huge Madonna kick and has us running around with bracelets reading "WWMD" and learning cheer routines to her greatest hits. Then suddenly her music is inexplicably playing all day over the PA system; no doubt Coach's doing. She even gives us an assignment to find a younger man to date.

It's not long before it spreads to the Glee club and Schuester has us preparing Madonna numbers to perform. I'm not sure Coach Sylvester will be too pleased about him following her lead, considering her deep hatred for Mr. Schue and the Glee club. But I'm not gonna lie; personally I'm totally down with all this Madonna hype. The woman is beyond fierce and she doesn't take crap from anybody. Kind of like me.

The boys don't seem so enthusiastic though. Even our totally awesome performance of "Express Yourself" doesn't seem to leave much of an impression. Puck keeps going on about how no girl can control him but I know better. He might not like to admit it but I've had him begging on his knees plenty of times in the bedroom. For him to sit there and deny that chicks hold any power over him is just laughable.

Meanwhile I've been having some trouble with the assignment Coach has given us for Cheerios. Brittany has had no problems at all, finding some little kid to date within just a couple of days, which by the way is kind of creepy and I'm not even sure if it's entirely legal. I never usually struggle to find a man at all; it's just that I always go for older guys. They offer more in terms of benefits to my reputation, not to mention experience in the bedroom. I need to find some freshman or something soon, before Coach finds out that I'm still single. It'll look especially bad if _Brittany_ has managed to handle the assignment and I haven't. When I express my frustration over the issue to her she suggests I go for Finn; pointing out that he technically is younger than me. And hell, he's definitely inferior. While the prospect of sleeping with Finn doesn't exactly leave me weak at the knees, she has a point. He _is_ the quarterback after all and now that he and Quinn are no longer an item it might be worth a shot. It might just impress Coach enough to finally make me head cheerleader. Hell, at this point I'll try anything.

He's reluctant at first, whining about how he still has feelings for Berry. I seriously don't know what his problem is; you'd think he _wants_ to stay a virgin forever. I mean, here he is with the chance to get with the hottest piece of action in the school and he actually _turns down_ the offer because of some dwarf in a hideous sweater.

I manage to win him over with the prospect of making her jealous and the information that she's still seeing that Jesse kid. We make a date at a motel on the edge of town for this Friday. I make sure Brittany spreads the word.

During one lunch break Kurt and Mercedes approach Brittany and me and ask us to help them with some dumb multimedia project. Of course we refuse at first, until Coach Sylvester strides up and demands that we take part, unless we want to be thrown off her squad.

We spend the next couple of days making some bizarre video which seems to involve Sue Sylvester singing a Madonna number while we dance around her in pointy bras. I don't ask what the purpose behind the whole thing is. By the time Friday comes around I'm completely exhausted, what with having to work on this video, "Express Yourself" and all the new Cheerios routines all week. Then I remember that I have to spend the evening seducing Finn Hudson which just puts me in a terrible mood.

I barely have five minutes to myself before he's pulling up outside my house to pick me up. On the drive to the motel he tries to make casual conversation which I am totally not in the mood for, but I put up with anyway to avoid a repeat of the last time I went out with him. He doesn't make eye contact and I can tell he's nervous as hell. Once we get there he disappears into the bathroom, saying he "Needs a moment." I roll my eyes and sit down on the bed as he shuts the door, locking it as though I might try and follow him in. I change into my sluttiest pair of pajamas that I brought along with me and lounge on the bed, waiting for Finn to grow a pair and emerge from the bathroom. I don't know why he's making such a big deal out of this. I mean, I do this all the time and you don't see me locking myself in the bathroom in a panic. I just want to get this over with and get home.

After a good ten minutes I'm starting to get really impatient and kind of hungry. I never even had a chance to eat after I got home from Cheerios practice.

"Look, are you ever coming out of there or not? 'Cause I'm not gonna wait here all night, Finnocence," I say loudly to the locked door.

"In a minute," comes the muffled reply. I sigh and glance around at the miserable motel room. It's not the most glamorous setting but at least it's clean.

After a moment I hear the lock turning and Finn steps awkwardly back into the room. I smirk. "Was beginning to think you'd changed your mind." He doesn't answer just smiles and stands there looking uncomfortable. Ugh, why does he have to be such a _girl_ about this? I pat the bed beside me and try to give an encouraging smile. He comes and sits beside me, his hands fidgeting on his lap. His cheeks are flushed and he obviously has no idea what he's doing. I roll my eyes before plastering a seductive smile on my face and reaching out to still his hands. I lean in to kiss him and he relaxes a little, one of his hands coming up to cup my face.

His kiss is kind of sloppy but not the worst I've experienced. I'm guessing he got a lot of practice making out with Quinn, considering she never let him do anything else.

After a minute I pull away and resisting the urge to wipe my mouth, I swing a leg over his lap, straddling him. He looks alarmed but shifts back on the bed slightly to let me climb on top of him. I tug his face into mine by the back of his neck for another kiss. His breath is hot and he tastes like pizza or something. He rests his hands on my lower back as if he's afraid to put them anywhere else. I guess he's been trained not to. I gradually push him down so he's lying on his back and as I crawl to settle over him and kiss his neck I can feel his hard on pressing into my stomach. That didn't take long. I grind my hips down into his slightly and he gasps and jerks, pulling me in for a wet kiss.

I slowly trail my hands down to his waistband but as soon my fingers start playing underneath he pulls away looking embarrassed. I raise an eyebrow.

"Um…" he stammers. "Could we like…get in the bed or something?" I try not to roll my eyes and attempt a smile. Of the many guys I've slept with, Finn's certainly the first one to be shy about me seeing him naked.

"Sure," I say, crawling off him and sliding under the sheets. He follows, looking relieved that he won't have to expose himself. He pulls the sheets up so they cover his crotch as if I don't know how hard he is already. I lean in and kiss his neck again while sliding a hand over his chest and down under the sheets. I lower my hand down between his legs and stroke him slowly through the material of his boxers. He stiffens as soon as I touch him there and I hear him let out another small gasp.

After just a few moments he places a hand on my shoulder and pushes away, stilling my wrist abruptly with his other hand. At first I'm confused, then I realize he's reaching for his wallet on the nightstand. Seems Finn's stamina isn't great…but then again I already knew that from stories Quinn's told me.

He turns his back to me, blushing as he fumbles with the wrapper. I sigh and pointedly look away so he can get on with it.

After a few more moments he still hasn't turned back around and I narrow my eyes at his back.

"You know what you're doing with that, right?" The last thing I want is to end up like Quinn because Finn Hudson doesn't know how to put a condom on.

"Yeah, it's fine," he mutters, staring into his lap and fidgeting. A moment later he turns back to face me, avoiding eye contact. A quick glance down before he tugs the sheets back up shows me all is well. After sliding my panties off my legs I smile sweetly and crawl on top of him. I drape one arm around his neck and lean in to kiss him while slipping a hand in between us. I can feel his hands shaking a little as they rest on my hips. As I sink down onto him his grip tightens and he exhales sharply into my mouth. I give him what I think is a reassuring smile before leaning back in and starting to rock my hips up and down. He grunts a little and his hands slide down to clutch my ass as I start to move faster.

It doesn't take very long at all before his fingers suddenly dig sharply into my skin and his hips strain forward into me. His face contorts as he comes but he doesn't make a sound. I stop moving and lift myself off him, moving to sit beside him while he composes himself. Well, I think, that was easy. Terrible, but easy. Pretty much what I was expecting. I reach for my underwear and pull it back on as he peels off the condom and disposes of it. He rests his hands on his lap, staring into space and a silence falls over us. This is the part I always hate. Having to lie there afterwards and make conversation. Usually the guy is all over me, kissing me sloppily and telling me how awesome I was, but Finn doesn't say anything. He just sits there staring at the opposite wall like he doesn't understand what just happened. I sit there beside him wondering what the hell I'm meant to say now. God, this is awkward.

After a minute the silence gets too painful and my hunger gets the better of me. I reach into the drawer.

"Do you think they have room service in this place? 'Cause I want a burger." I'm not surprised when I find no menus in the drawer. Even though this motel was the best Finn could afford it's still the cheapest place _I've_ ever stayed in.

"I thought I'd feel different after." Finn finally speaks up. Ugh, I should have expected this. He's just like Quinn and Berry and all those other girls who think that losing the Big V is some magical unforgettable experience that changes you inside. Please. Everybody's first time sucks. That's why you keep doing it until it gets better.

"Yeah well I've noticed that it takes about twenty or so times before the feeling of accomplishment really kicks in." I say, thinking of how crappy sex was for me when I first started doing it. "There's no menus so you're going to have to take me to a burger joint." I state, folding my hands on my lap again. "How do you feel?" I ask, wondering why he's being so weird. I've never had anyone freak out like this after sex…but then again I think Finn's the first virgin I've ever slept with. And the last, I think to myself.

"I don't feel anything." He pauses. "'Cause it didn't mean anything." He sounds almost annoyed. I narrow my eyes. What is _that_ supposed to mean? Doesn't he know how many guys would _kill _for the chance to do what he just did? I'm _good_ at this. He should be happy I did him the favor of taking his virginity before he left high school. He's an idiot if he was ever expecting anything else. I'm as good as he's going to get.

"Yeah, well, that's reality," I snap before turning and getting out the bed quickly. I reach for my clothes. "Now get up. I'm hungry and you're taking me for dinner." He stares at me as I walk to the bathroom and shut the door with a little more force than necessary. I tug my clothes on, frowning angrily as I do. Finn is such an ass. What happened to Brittany's theory about "getting a man to follow you forever?" I clench my teeth and feel a lump forming in my throat. I pull on a pair of jeans and stand up, wiping furiously at my eyes. Why the hell am I crying? I don't give a damn about Finn Hudson. He's just some dopey idiot from the football team.

After a minute I've pulled myself together and I reappear in the bedroom. Finn looks ready to go and I grab my stuff and follow him out the door. I don't speak to him as we drive to the burger place.

While we're eating he starts making small talk about the Glee Club and the Madonna assignment and I make non-committal responses. He gives up eventually and drives me back to my house.

I stand on my lawn for a minute before digging my phone out of my pocket and texting Puck. I don't know what kind of relationship he and Quinn have at the moment but frankly I don't give a damn. She didn't bat an eyelash before screwing him when _I_ was his girlfriend so I'm only too happy to return the favor. It's pretty late already but of course Puck agrees to meet me. At least _he_ appreciates me.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N - Just a quick note to say sorry for taking ages to update recently..been kind of busy/lazy...sorry! Also thanks for the kind reviews, they're inspiring :) And just for the record the awkwardness of Finn in the last chapter was intentional! Apologies for any discomfort caused haha. Enjoy! **

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><p>On Monday Finn corners me in the choir room before Glee club starts.<p>

"Hey, Santana…" he says awkwardly. "Can we talk?" I narrow my eyes and don't say anything. He takes this as an invitation to continue. "Look, about Friday night…could you like…not tell anyone about what happened between us?" I stare blankly at him. I thought the whole point of this was that we _were _telling people. Now he wants to keep it a _secret_?

"Why?" I say, folding my arms and glaring at him. He sighs.

"I just…I don't want Rachel to find out. It might hurt her."

"Uh, yeah…I thought that was kinda the point, _Finn._" He shuffles uncomfortably. "I thought you wanted to make her jealous?" He doesn't meet my eyes.

"Just don't tell anyone, okay? Please?" I glower at him for a second more, taking in his pleading expression.

"Fine; whatever. You're obviously set on becoming the biggest loser in the school so who am I to stand in your way," I snap, turning and going to sit down before he can respond. I've totally had it with Finn; he is such a douche. I mean, doesn't he want to be popular? If he told all the guys that he got with me his reputation would go through the roof. But no, instead he chooses to keep it on the down low in case the hobbit finds out. This whole thing is ridiculous. Brittany already knows anyway and she will have told god knows how many people. I doubt anybody will bother telling Man-hands though, so Finn needn't worry. Whatever. I really can't be bothered dealing with any of this crap anymore. I'm certainly not looking to crawl back into bed with Finnocence any time soon. He makes Puck look like a sex god.

The bell rings and Mr. Schuester strides in with some new kid behind him. He introduces him as Jesse St. James and informs us that he's transferred here and will be joining the New Directions. Of course the entire Glee club is outraged, protesting that he's only here to spy on us for Vocal Adrenaline. Admittedly I have to agree with them. He says he's here for Rachel but I refuse to believe _anybody _would transfer schools and join their rival Glee club, purely to be with Man-hands. Well…_Finn_ probably would. But I don't believe this Jesse kid for a second.

In the end there's not really anything we can do, so we end up having to watch him and Berry all over each other throughout the entire Glee rehearsal and it's super gross. I seriously do not understand how she has become so popular with the boys. It doesn't make any sense.

If Jesse joining the Glee club isn't random enough, there are two new additions to the Cheerios that I really didn't see coming. When Brittany and I arrive at practice the next day we're surprised to find Kurt and Mercedes standing with Coach Sylvester out on the field, in red and white uniforms. I stare in disbelief but don't comment. I didn't even know boys were _allowed_ to join the squad. Although I guess Kurt hardly counts.

When everybody else has arrived Coach announces that she will be adding vocals to all of our routines, with Kurt and Mercedes singing lead. I was wondering what their contributions were going to be; neither of them strike me as particularly athletic. The whole thing seems pretty weird to me. I mean, now that the Cheerios are singing too, what's the difference between us and the Glee club? Aside from the fact that we're attractive and popular, of course.

Throughout the next couple of weeks Coach is working us harder than ever because some famous reporter is coming to write her up. We'll be performing at an assembly and showcasing the talents of our two newest recruits. Apparently Mercedes has until then to lose ten pounds…and I don't really see it happening, to be honest. She approaches us in the cafeteria to ask us our secret to looking this hot all the time, so I tell the recipe to the Sue Sylvester Master Cleanse. She'll need it if she wants to lose all that weight in just a week. She leaves her food where it is with a wistful glance at her chicken and Brittany goes back to voicing her concerns that her cat is reading her diary. It isn't, of course. Brittany left it on her nightstand the other day when she went to take a shower so I took the liberty of having a look inside. I didn't find anything particularly scandalous; the thing is mainly full of her rambling on about her cat and weird stories which make me suspect that she's confusing her dreams with reality. All she'd written about me is that I'm super hot and that I get extra cranky whenever Rachel Berry speaks to us. Which I guess is true…but who can blame me?

Meanwhile, for some bizarre reason Mr. Schuester is making us hold Glee rehearsals in an 80's themed roller rink. To be honest I think it has less to do with the venue's suitability and more to do with the fact that April Rhodes runs the place. During our first practice at "Rinkydinks" we just end up spending more time skating than singing and frankly I can't really see this working out as our new rehearsal space.

After we're done Britt and I are sitting unlacing our roller skates when Mercedes approaches. I notice she's still wearing her track uniform which doesn't bode well, considering the assembly is in two days.

"Hey guys, can I talk to you about something?" She asks, standing before us. We look up expectantly. Now that she's a Cheerio it's sort of socially acceptable to make conversation with her so instead of making my usual scathing remark I just nod slightly. "It's about the Cheerios assembly we got coming up. And listen, I've been thinking and I don't wanna do what we had planned." I narrow my eyes slightly.

"Well, too bad that's not really up to _you_, Aretha," I say, folding my arms over my chest.

"Just listen to what I have to say, okay? Everybody knows you basically run that squad, Santana, so I figure if I can convince you to go along with this then everyone else will follow." I sigh and wave a hand for her to continue. She sits down beside us on the bench. "So…I'm not liking this whole starvation-diet thing that Sue has all the girls on. I've always been comfortable with who I am and how I look but I found myself doubting that this week because of Coach Sylvester. And I know you'd probably never admit it but I bet you guys have felt like that before too." I guess she's kind of right. I mean, spending time around Sue Sylvester isn't exactly good for your self-esteem, even when you're as hot as me.

"So…what are you suggesting?" I say skeptically. She shrugs and smiles a little.

"I wanna show people that it doesn't matter who you are or what you look like. You should just accept yourself the way you are and not worry about being perfect all the time. I feel like that's a message that Sue and the Cheerios could do with learning. And I think I have the perfect song to do it." She smiles hopefully at us. Brittany just looks at me expectantly, awaiting my verdict. I'm not convinced. Going against what Coach Sylvester has planned doesn't seem like a great idea to me.

"Coach won't like it if you just change the routine without telling her. Like, she _really_ won't like it. You'll probably get kicked off the squad. Hell, _I'll _probably get kicked off the squad. And as heart-warming as your little self-acceptance idea sounds, that's not a risk I'm willing to take. Sorry," I say with a sweet smile. She just rolls her eyes and stands up.

"Just think about it, okay?" she says with a meaningful look before walking away.

Later on I go online to look up the reporter who's coming to the school; Tracey Pendergrass, who I'm surprised to find is actually a guy. After reading up on him, as well as finding a few of his articles, I start to rethink Mercedes' suggestion. I'm suddenly not so sure he's gonna be impressed by what we have planned for the assembly and that it might be wiser to give her idea a go. Now that I've read some of his previous pieces I get the feeling he's not going to like the tyrannical regime Coach is famous for. He seems more the type to go for the whole equality and self-love thing.

The next day I take a deep breath before walking up behind Mercedes in the hall and tapping her on the shoulder.

"About what we talked about yesterday…" I say as she turns to me. I don't meet her eyes. "…I'm in." I mutter before swiftly walking away.

For some reason Mercedes doesn't want us telling Kurt what we're planning so I wait until the rest of the squad are in the girl's locker room before making the announcement. Most of them seem wary of the idea but they don't dare say anything to me. A few of them even seem to like the idea.

When the big day arrives and we walk out in front of the whole school I'm suddenly feeling a lot less confident. My palms are sweaty and my heart is pounding from nerves and I'm hoping like hell that I'm right about this Tracey Pendergrass guy. I try to keep my composure as Mercedes walks out and makes her little speech. I'm glad I'm not facing Coach Sylvester so I don't have to see her expression right now.

Thankfully the students in the audience seem to agree with what they're hearing and I feel my nerves disappear as she starts singing. This song _is _pretty awesome. She sounds good and from what I can see the audience is enjoying it. They're smiling and some of them are even getting on their feet. When it's time for us to join in I'm smiling too and feeling pretty confident I made the right decision here. We turn around and I see Quinn getting up to come sing with us. More students follow her and by the end of the song there's quite a crowd of people down at the front, singing along. I have to admit; I'm pretty surprised. I didn't expect the student body to be so responsive to Mercedes' little speech, what with the way they like to slushy each other and toss the unpopular kids in the dumpster. I don't think I've ever seen them be so sincere. I give Quinn a rare smile as I stand between her and Tina, for once not ashamed to be seen with the likes of them.

After the performance we head back to the locker room to grab our stuff before we leave. The other Cheerios leave with Mercedes, chattering excitedly and congratulating her on her singing, leaving me and Brittany alone in the locker room. She waits for me as I grab my cheer bag from my locker and pull my jacket on.

"That was fun," she says. "I'm glad you changed your mind about performing that song." She smiles as I turn to face her. "Maybe Coach will be nicer to us now…Mercedes is right. Sometimes being on Cheerios makes me feel like I need to dance better and be prettier," she says, looking a little sad. I sigh and lean against my locker, thinking over her words.

"Yeah…" I pause for a moment. "…I know what you mean," I mumble, looking at my shoes. I see her feet step closer and she raises a hand to my chin, lifting my head to face her. She studies me for a moment and I stare back silently.

"Well," she says with a shy smile. "I think you're beautiful."

My heart jumps a little at her words and I feel myself smile back slightly. I meet her gaze and after a second she grins and leans forward, kissing me softly on the lips. It only lasts a few seconds before she pulls away, her thumb brushing once over my cheek. She walks to the door and turns. "Are you coming?" she asks, her pinky outstretched to me. I'm still standing frozen on the same spot. Her unexpected kiss has left me weirdly breathless and my chest feels all warm. I don't think anyone's ever called me beautiful before. After a second I manage to shake myself out of my reverie and walk up to her, taking her pinky.

"Of course." As we leave the locker room and walk through the hall I can't help grinning to myself. I glance sideways at her. "And by the way, Britt…" I feel my cheeks flush. "…I think you're beautiful too," I almost whisper. She beams at me and squeezes my pinky once as we head through the front doors and out the school.

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><p>Just before the next Cheerios practice Coach Sylvester storms into the locker room when we're all getting ready. "You," she says, pointing at me. "My office, now." I swallow and nod quickly. This is the first time we've seen her since Mercedes' surprise performance so I'm guessing this is about what happened at the assembly.<p>

I hurry along the hall to her office and sit down in the chair opposite her. I wait for her to speak, eyeing her apprehensively. She peers at me over her glasses, her expression unreadable.

"Interesting show you and the other girls put on yesterday," she says finally. I swallow and try to resist the urge to look at my lap. "I don't remember giving the go-ahead for _that_." She falls silent and takes off her glasses to study my face. "Now, Santana, I'm not stupid. Far from it, in fact. I suspect Mercedes didn't arrange this little stunt all by herself. Did you know about this? And did you or did you not allow it to happen, despite my very clear orders to stick to the routine exactly?" I hesitate. I can either tell the truth and admit to going against her orders which could end _very_ badly. Or I can deny it…but she'd almost certainly know I was lying. She knows all the other girls on that squad answer to me and never would have gone along with the idea without my consent. Lying could just make things worse. I decide to just go for it and come clean. I nod slightly, terrified of what her reaction will be. She leans back and doesn't say anything for several seconds.

I've pretty much given up all hope of keeping my place on the squad by the time she speaks again.

"Well, Santana, congratulations." I don't move, my heart pounding. "As of this moment you are my newly appointed head cheerleader." She gives me an approving smile. "Good work." I stare at her, wondering if I misheard.

"R-really?" I choke out after a few seconds. I wouldn't be surprised if she was just saying this to mess with me. She throws me a look of disgust.

"Yes, really. Sue Sylvester doesn't joke about these kinds of things. Now stop stammering like an idiot and get out of my office before I change my mind." My cheeks flush and I nod hurriedly before jumping up and leaving the office. I can hardly believe it. If only I'd broken the rules sooner.

* * *

><p>It's been just a few days since I was made head cheerleader and I'm already thoroughly enjoying the perks that the promotion offers. Students part in the hallway to let me past, guys check me out even more than usual and the other Cheerios have to do <em>whatever<em> I ask them to, no matter how unreasonable my demands. Even the teachers are sucking up to me. It gives me immense satisfaction every time I catch a glimpse of Quinn fighting her way through the crowds, completely invisible now that she's fallen from grace.

At the end of the week, one of the seniors from the basketball team is hosting a party. It's pretty much Cheerios and jocks only so I don't have to worry about running into any geeks like Berry or Jew-fro, but Mercedes will be there now that she's on the squad. At practice she approaches Britt and me and asks if she can go with us.

"What? Why can't you just go with like, Kurt?" I say quickly, slightly alarmed by her request. Brittany elbows me and smiles at her.

"Yeah, you can totally come with us! Come to Santana's place after school and we'll all get ready together, it'll be totally awesome!" she says enthusiastically to Mercedes, who looks over the moon at the invitation.

"Cool. I'll catch you guys later," she says with a grin, before walking off to gossip with Kurt. I turn to Brittany.

"What the hell was that?" I ask.

"What?" She looks back at me blankly. "I like Mercedes. And she's on Cheerios now so it's fine if we hang out outside of Glee club right?" I frown. I guess she's kind of right. It's just that up until a couple of weeks ago she was just another Glee nerd and I've not really adjusted to her sudden rise to popularity yet.

"Right, whatever," I mutter.

After school Mercedes catches up to us in the parking lot and we all drive to mine. On the way she chats on and on about how excited she is for her first big-deal party and I just roll my eyes. I _really_ hope she isn't going to be like this all night.

We arrive at mine and quickly head up to my room. Mercedes stares around in fascination as if she can hardly believe she's here. She heads straight for my expensive sound system and starts flipping through my huge CD collection.

"Wow, Santana, you have so much music," she says, admiration in her voice. I shrug as I sit Britt down to do her hair.

"Whatever. Borrow anything you want. I never listen to that stuff anyway; it's all on my computer." She looks surprised.

"Really? Wow…thanks. That's really nice of you." She smiles at me. I shift uncomfortably and focus on brushing Britt's hair. I don't bother telling her that I said it more out of indifference than to be 'nice' and just mutter "No problem."

She sticks some music on and the three of us chat for a while as I fix Brittany's hair then she does mine. Mercedes disappears to change her clothes and comes back wearing some colorful ensemble with several patterns that make my eyes hurt. I must admit she looks good though; I guess the girl's got some style.

After she finishes sorting her own hair she turns to look at us both.

"Aren't you guys gonna get dressed?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. We look back at her blankly. Brittany stares down at her own body, presumably to check she's still wearing clothes. I shrug, going back to filing my nails.

"Nope. Britts and I usually just show up in our uniforms. They're like, a status symbol. Plus, the boys find it totally hot."

"Wait, what?" she says incredulously, staring at us in disbelief. "You're telling me you go to every single party dressed in those things? That's crazy," she scoffs. I shrug again.

"We've never had any complaints before." She stands from my bed and looks at us.

"C'mon guys, use your imagination. We have to wear our uniforms _every_ day at school, this is the only chance you get to really dress up and look hot. Y'know, go all out. I mean," she waves a hand at my huge closet, "what's the point in having all these hot clothes if you never get to show them off?" I look at her curiously. I guess she has a point. Sometimes I do miss dressing up properly. "Come here and I'll pick you guys out something totally sweet for you to turn up in. Trust me, the guys at that party won't know what hit them." She grins at us. Brittany looks to me from her seat on the bed as if asking my permission to take her up on the offer. I smile and get up.

"Fine…but I get the final say on everything."

We spend the next hour or so picking out and trying on clothes and I end up with a dark brown dress that I haven't worn in ages with a short leather jacket and high-heeled boots. Brittany's borrowed some dark blue denim shorts and heels that show off her legs and I must admit we both look pretty awesome. Once we're dressed we redo our hair, leaving it to hang loose this time. Mercedes seems impressed with her own handiwork as she stands back to admire us.

I disappear downstairs to bring up some dinner and after we've eaten I reach into one of my drawers and produce a bottle of vodka. Brittany holds out her glass expectantly and I pour some into her coke. Mercedes' eyes are wide as she watches me do the same to my own drink and offer her the bottle.

"Um…" She frowns. "Isn't your mom home?" I look back at her blankly.

"What's your point?"

"Well…wouldn't she be pretty pissed if she found out we're up here drinking?"

"Please," I roll my eyes. "She never even comes up here. Besides, Britts and I always get our drink on before we head out. It's like, tradition."

"Totally," Brittany says, smiling at Mercedes, who still looks uncertain.

"Well…just a little I guess. I don't wanna have too much before the party." I smirk and instead of commenting on how totally lame she sounds I just pour a small amount into her cup.

After a couple of drinks Mercedes is chatting away and giggling happily, loosened up a bit from the alcohol. It didn't take much; I'm guessing she's pretty new to this. I glance at my phone to check the time and decide we should probably head out before she gets wasted or something.

We leave my house and walk along a few blocks to where the party is being held. Luckily it's pretty near my place so we shouldn't have to beg somebody for a lift home later.

I made sure we left late enough for it to be busy when we arrive, and sure enough as we walk up to the front door I can hear loud music thumping from inside and see groups of people through the window. We step inside and I look around for somebody interesting to talk to. I see Puck across the room checking me out.

"Looking good, Santana," he says with a smirk as I walk past him. I flash him a flirty smile before heading to the drinks table, Brittany and Mercedes following close behind me. I prepare shots for me and Britt and then start to pour one for Mercedes too as an afterthought. She stops me though, saying she wants to "take it easy for a while." So she's one of _those_ people. I roll my eyes and put the bottle down to take my shot with Brittany. Mercedes stands awkwardly staring as we drink three shots in quick succession.

"You know what guys; I'm gonna go talk to some of the other Cheerios. I'll see you later," she says before heading across the room.

"Whatever," I mutter, only half listening. I'm kind of glad she's gone to be honest. I mean, I guess she's alright but her constant presence was beginning to irritate me. Some guys call us over to the next room to play beer pong with them. I hate beer but I'm confident I'll win so I agree to play. The two of us join opposite teams and we all take turns throwing the ball across the table, trying to land it in one of the other team's cups. Brittany is completely terrible; every time she throws the ball it ends up sailing over the end of the table, but I manage to land a few of my shots in the cups. I end up having to drink a couple of beers which I somehow manage not to throw up but in the end we win.

By now Brittany's completely wasted from losing so badly at beer pong and I can't help but laugh at her as she falls onto all the guys around her. I grab her hand and pull her through to the kitchen where Puck is standing with a couple of his friends leaning over something. I lean against him and peer over to see what he's doing. He has a knife and he's poking a hole into the side of an empty beer can. I stare for a moment, trying to make sense of what I'm seeing.

"What are you doing?" He smirks and his friends leer at me and Brittany.

"Making a bong." He says, holding up a small bag of green leaves and shaking it in my face. "Want some?" I inspect it for a moment. I've never done it before but I guess there's a first time for everything.

"Sure." I continue to watch as he fits some foil over the top of the can and pokes some holes in it. I frown. I've never smoked pot before but this still seems like a pretty random way to do it.

"Can't you just like…roll a joint?" I ask drunkenly, eyeing the contraption he's made doubtfully. He shakes his head dismissively.

"This'll be fine," he says, before grabbing it and leading us out to the garden. We sit down on the steps of the back porch and I watch as he gets ready to use it. Once all the guys have had some they pass it to me and I realize I have no idea what I'm doing. They must see my uncertainty because they laugh and Puck rolls his eyes. He leans over to light the weed.

"Put your mouth over the hole and breathe in when I say, okay?" I follow his instructions and when I breathe in I feel my lungs burn as they fill with hot smoke. It stings my throat and I cough hard several times, regretting breathing in so deeply. Holy crap; that hurt. Puck laughs at me and I glare at him with watery eyes. I pass the beer can to Brittany beside me. She tentatively breathes in the smoke and makes a face but doesn't cough like me. After a second she breathes out and white smoke floods out of her mouth.

Puck passes the makeshift bong around for a while longer and I learn how to do it without coughing and spluttering madly. He finally takes one last hit before setting the can down beside him and tucking the bag of pot back into his pocket. I try to figure out if I feel any different. I'm pretty drunk from all the alcohol earlier but when I start to move it feels different from usual. There's another buzz there, making me feel like I'm floating and like I'm in my own little world with my thoughts. I think about this for a while, staring into the darkness of the garden.

Brittany's arm brushes against mine and I jolt back to reality. I suddenly realize I'm grinning so hard my cheeks hurt, so I try to compose myself. I look around at the people beside me. Puck is smiling at everyone happily and I feel myself beaming back. For some reason the fact that Puck is happy makes me completely ecstatic and want to give him a big hug. I laugh because the whole situation is hilarious. Is this what it's like to be high? If so, it's _awesome_. I laugh some more, unable to stop myself, though at this point I'm not sure what's so funny. I turn to Brittany to see her giggling away as she watches me. She seems to be experiencing the same thing I am.

"So-o good…" I say slowly, grinning broadly and she nods enthusiastically.

"Totally…" she giggles. I turn to the other guys who are watching us with amused expressions. Their eyes look heavy and Puck's leaning back on the porch railing, looking completely immobile.

We stay there for a few more minutes, talking about completely random stuff that is for some reason totally fascinating. Eventually I get bored though and drag Brittany back into the house. The lights are so bright after being inside and I squint as I enter, trying to adjust. I make my way through the party, feeling as though I'm flying and like my head is separate from my body. I turn to ask Brittany if she feels the same. She does and we laugh uncontrollably over our discovery. I spy Mercedes across the room with Kurt and I grin, making my way over. I find myself _really_ wanting to talk to them. I don't know why I ever didn't like those guys; right now going over to chat to them sounds like the most appealing thing in the world.

"Heyy guys," I say with a huge smile as I flop down next to them on the couch. I pull Brittany down onto my lap and she leans back, getting her hair in face. Kurt and Mercedes turn to look at us, looking slightly alarmed but smiling anyway. "When did you get here, Ladyface?" I ask, spitting blonde strands out my mouth.

"I just arrived," Kurt replies. I glance down to see him nursing some fruity pink drink. Typical.

"Uh…are you guys okay?" Mercedes asks, warily eyeing Brittany who is flopping her head from side to side with her eyes closed. She's grinning and looks like she's having the time of her life. I laugh as I watch her. Mercedes peers at my face. "Your eyes look kinda red."

"I am _so_ good," I say, closing my eyes and copying Brittany's motions with my head. It feels awesome and I pat her on the back for discovering it. "Well done," I mutter dreamily. I lean back and tug Brittany further onto my lap so I can see around her. She relaxes into me and we both sit there watching the people at the party and giggling whenever we see something funny. Which turns out to be a lot of the time.

We sit there for what feels like hours before the party seems to come back into clear focus and I wonder what the hell I'm doing. I frown and shake my head a little. I turn to my right and see that Kurt and Mercedes aren't there anymore. Weird, I think. I don't remember them getting up. I turn back to face the living room and get lost in my own head again. I find myself staring fixatedly at the pattern of Brittany's top on her shoulder. I peer at it, moving my head closer to get a better look. I can't believe how detailed it is. Have I always been able to see things this well? I make a mental note to check when I'm sober to see if it's the same. Then Brittany moves her arm and I'm ripped from my trance.

I suddenly feel like I'm sobering up and decide it's time for some more drinks. I push Brittany off my legs and she stands shakily. I find my legs feel just as unstable as hers look so I grab her hand to help pull me up. I steady myself before making my way to the drinks table. Puck is standing there and offers to pour us some of the tequila he's got in his hands. I agree and while we wait for him to cut up the limes Mercedes and Kurt reappear beside us.

"Hey girl," Mercedes says to me. "still having a good time?" She gives me a big grin like we're the best of friends and I look blankly back at her.

"Certainly seemed to be earlier," Kurt says with a knowing laugh and a wink. Suddenly I remember why I dislike these people.

"Yeah, how much did you drink, guys? You were laughing like crazy," Mercedes exclaims. Puck speaks up.

"Oh that's not the drink. It's this." He takes the bag of weed out his pocket and shakes it in their faces. I think he just likes doing that. They look shocked as they stare at the small bag.

"Is that…" Mercedes says uncertainly. I roll my eyes.

"Pot?" I say loudly. "Yeah. Try not to freak out _too_ much." I say sarcastically, shaking my head. They fall silent at my harsh tone but still seem completely stunned at the fact that we've been smoking weed. "Whatever," I mutter before turning back to the table to take my shot.

"If you ladies enjoyed yourselves earlier you should come over this Sunday," Puck says conversationally. "There's plenty more where that came from." He pats his pocket. I smile sweetly.

"Thanks. Maybe we will."

I finish off a couple more drinks and end up going off with Puck. We dance for a bit then move to the couch to make out. We stay there for quite a while until someone comes up to tap me on the shoulder.

"What?" I snap, tearing my lips from Puck's neck and glaring at Kurt. This had better be good.

"It's Britt," he shouts over the loud music. He must be quite drunk because he seems to be acting even gayer than usual. "I think you should take her home." I frown and look around for her.

"Where is she?" I slur, dragging myself off Puck's lap. He groans and mumbles something incoherent.

"In the kitchen," Kurt replies with a meaningful look. "With half the football team." I roll my eyes and stumble over to the kitchen. I walk inside with Kurt behind me and see Brittany sprawled out on the kitchen table. She's lost her shirt somewhere and there's a group of drunken jocks around her cheering as some beefy blonde guy licks salt off her stomach. She giggles and squirms and I wrinkle my nose with a laugh. That is just gross. I stride over and elbow the guy out the way.

"Hey, Britt-Britt," I say, looking down at her with a smirk and my hands on my hips. "Having fun?" She grins drunkenly up at me.

"Your turn!" she calls out and the guys around the table erupt in cheers of approval. I smirk and glance at the tequila bottle beside her. I'm already pretty damn wasted but I guess one more shot won't hurt. I wipe her stomach with my hand to get rid of all the left over salt and she wriggles about. "That tickles!" she giggles as I brush my fingers over her skin. I laugh and poke her in her side to make her twist around even more.

"Hold still!" I shout with a grin as I bend down. I lick her skin once, just above her bellybutton and the guys watching laugh and whoop in approval. She fidgets slightly underneath me and I smirk as I pour a little salt onto the spot I licked. I take the tequila in one hand and a slice of lime in the other. When I lean back in I make sure to take my time licking all the salt from her stomach, making our audience go wild. I smile and feel her squirming under my tongue. I pull back and quickly drink some of the tequila before biting down on the lime. The guys cheer me on enthusiastically and seem eager for more. I set the bottle down and hold out a hand to Brittany.

"C'mon, Britt. I'm taking you home," I say with a chuckle. She pouts but takes my hand. I tug her off the table and she stumbles into me. The jocks around us groan as I drag her to the door where Kurt is still standing. He stares at me incredulously as we pass and Brittany ruffles his hair.

"Bye Kurt!" she yells as we head away and out the house. I realize she's still topless so I give her my jacket. She can barely walk and I have to practically hold her up with an arm around her waist, which isn't easy since she's taller than me. I'm not in much better shape than her and it takes us ages to get back to mine, falling over in a heap more than once.

We finally make it to my house, laughing as we burst through the front door. I try to remember to keep quiet as we make our way upstairs, shushing her in between my giggles. As soon as we're in my bedroom she throws off my jacket, hurling it into the corner. Her shorts soon follow and she collapses into my bed in just her underwear. I stagger around trying to tug my boots off and end up falling on my ass. She bursts out laughing loudly as she watches me from the bed and I can't help but laugh too.

After some more struggling I manage to get my shoes and dress off and I follow her into the bed. I click off the light and roll over to face her. She wraps herself around me and leans on top of me to give me a sloppy kiss. I giggle. "Britt, you taste like tequila," I mumble against her lips. She grins and pulls back slightly.

"You taste like Santana," she says simply. I smile at her and reach up, clumsily brushing her hair out of her face. I stroke her hair softly for a moment more before she leans in to kiss me again. She presses her lips into mine, her finger coming up to trace my jaw. Then she plants small wet kisses all over my forehead and cheeks and on the tip of my nose, making me giggle. She finally slides down to press her lips to my neck once, before curling her head against my shoulder. She trails her hands sleepily over my body, running over my stomach and breasts then sliding slowly down to my hips and thighs. I relax into the soothing motions and they gradually get slower and slower as we both fall asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning both of us wake up feeling tired and hungover. We lie in bed feeling terrible until early afternoon, and when we do get up we just sit around watching crappy cartoons and downing glasses of water. Eventually I drive Brittany home and end up crashing at her place because I'm too exhausted to head back to mine.

On Sunday morning we're both woken up by my phone vibrating loudly on her nightstand and I groan and roll away from her to grab for it. It's a text from Puck, asking if we're still coming over today. I grumble and stretch, cursing Puck for disturbing my sleep before texting him back to say we'll be there in an hour.

We get dressed and head over to his place. I ring the doorbell and he opens the door for us with a grin, ushering us inside. Britt and I sit on the couch beside him while he leans over the coffee table, bringing out another small bag of pot.

"Where's your mom?" I ask, peering into the kitchen.

"Working," he replies. "She won't be back till late tonight. And my sister's staying at a friend's for the weekend. My mom doesn't let me look after her by myself since she let me pierce her ears that one time. It's just you and me, ladies," he says with a sleazy smile.

"And me," someone says coldly. We turn to see Quinn standing in the doorway looking down at us with a raised eyebrow. Right. I forgot she lived here.

"Santana, Brittany." I throw her a fake smile. She glances at Puck. "What are you doing, Puckerman?" He doesn't look up from the coffee table.

"Rolling a joint. Don't disturb my concentration." She purses her lips in disapproval.

"Right. Well, I'm going to church. I'm sure you three will have fun without me." I roll my eyes as she turns and heads out the front door. I'm glad to hear we won't have to deal with her throwing us judgmental looks for the next few hours.

We watch closely as Puck finishes rolling the joint. Once he's done he holds it up to inspect it, looking very proud of himself. He lights it up and takes a long drag before passing it to me. I take it and breathe in cautiously, remembering my coughing attack on Friday. This tastes a lot nastier than the other night and I make a face as it burns and scratches at my throat. I pass it to Brittany and her eyes water as she breathes in the smoke, obviously experiencing the same feeling as me.

"Where did you get this stuff anyway?" I ask Puck.

"Mr. Ryerson sold it to me. I got a wicked good deal on it too."

"Wow. He must like you a lot," I remark with a smirk, watching him pull a face.

Puck starts off rolling another joint while Brittany and I finish the first one. By the time we've started on the second I'm starting to get some of that same numb feeling of happiness from the other night. I settle back into the sofa with a sigh, my eyes drooping shut slightly. Puck and Brittany grin at me and I smile back. Soon the three of us are laughing at each other as we pass the joint around, relaxing back in our seats.

We spend the next hour or so just talking about completely random stuff and Puck tells us some long-winded story about Super Mario Bros. 3. I just nod along, happy to listen, while Brittany falls all over my side, giggling to herself.

Eventually Puck gets up, announcing that he has a "mad case of the munchies," and goes off to make himself a sandwich. This leaves Brittany and me alone in the living room and as soon as he's gone she grins and crawls onto my lap. She leans towards me, ruffling my hair clumsily with both her hands. I close my eyes and laugh quietly at the weird sensation as my hair falls messily around my face. We smile lazily at each other for a second before I tug her hips closer into me and wrap my arms around her waist. She hums and giggles before leaning down to give me a small kiss, her hands still tangled in my hair. I decide I really like the way her lips feel so I lean up for more, grinning broadly as I do. We kiss slowly for a few minutes and I marvel at how much more intense it feels than usual; it's like my skin is super sensitive to her touch. I've completely forgotten that we're in Puck's living room and he could walk in at any moment.

I move down to kiss her neck and she hums dreamily. She strokes my hair languidly for a few moments as I bury my face in her skin.

"Can you kiss me…?" she mumbles. I laugh stupidly.

"I am, Britt," I say sluggishly, sucking on the skin under her ear to emphasize my point. She chuckles and pushes back from me.

"Kiss me here," she says, and sits back, raising her arms up above her head and closing her eyes. I snigger because she looks ridiculous.

"Where? Your armpits?" I ask with an incredulous laugh. She nods and smiles, her eyes still shut. "Why?" I look at her exposed armpits and try to imagine kissing them.

"'Cause I think it'll be hot. Please do it?" She opens her eyes and flops her hands down onto my shoulders. I smile at her and drag her by the waist off me to lean her back against the arm rest of the couch.

"Fine, but you are _totally_ weird, Brittany," I say as I slowly lift her left arm and hold it above our heads. I stare at the skin of her armpit for a few long moments contemplating how to go about this. This is the weirdest thing I have ever done. I look back at her face and see her biting her lip in anticipation. I shrug and lean in, pressing my lips gently underneath her raised arm. She giggles and squirms about, apparently loving it. I can't help but laugh uncontrollably as I continue to cover the area with light kisses. I've never felt more ridiculous than I do right now and for some reason I find this whole situation hilarious. I decide that I might as well go all out and press my lips in hard, burying my whole mouth in her skin and darting out my tongue. She lets out a weirdly loud moan at this and arches her back slightly. Wow. That wasn't exactly the reaction I was expecting. I look at her face for a moment then burst out laughing again, causing her to chuckle at herself. I grin and push her arm up further so I can get better access, before leaning down and slowly licking once up her armpit. She tastes like deodorant and the skin is smoother than I thought it would be. She hums contentedly.

"Do that again…" she mumbles and I comply, dragging my tongue over the warm skin.

"Uh…what are you doing?"

I freeze, my tongue still attached to Brittany. It's Puck, standing in the doorway to the living room holding a huge sandwich which looks like it has about ten different fillings. He's grinning down at me, presumably wondering why I'm sitting on his couch holding Brittany's wrist above my head while I lick her arm pit. I pull away slowly, sheepishly dropping her arm so it falls back to her side. I glance over and catch Brittany's eye. We look at each other silently for a moment before simultaneously bursting out laughing. Puck shakes his head as he moves across the room to sit back down beside us.

"You guys are totally baked," he says with a smirk before taking a huge bite out of his sandwich.

Once he's finished eating Puck rolls another joint and we start passing it around. By the time it's finished I feel like I can barely move and I sit back on the couch, staring into space. After a while Puck shifts closer and I'm vaguely aware of him rubbing my thigh and kissing my neck. I don't have the energy to respond though and he eventually seems to give up. I get completely lost in my thoughts, focusing on the picture across the room from me of Puck when he was a kid. I don't know how long I'm staring at it but I'm suddenly torn back to reality by somebody shaking my shoulder and moving to stand in front of me. I blink and look up to see Quinn staring down at me. How long have I been sitting here?

"Hello?" she says huffily. "Can't you hear me?" I nod dumbly. "Where is Puckerman? And Brittany?" I frown and look either side of me, confused when I see that the other two have disappeared. When did that happen?

"They were here…" I say slowly. She wrinkles her nose and frowns down at me.

"It stinks in here. How much did you smoke?" I shrug and try to get up. I find that it's extremely difficult and she has to help me to my feet. I shake my head and rub my eyes, trying to clear the haziness from my mind. I realize my mouth feels completely dry so I walk slowly over to the kitchen to fill a glass of water. Quinn follows me and stares as I down it, spilling a few drops on my top.

"I am _so_ hungry," I say to her, moving to search through Puck's cupboards. She rolls her eyes.

"Actually, you're not." I ignore her and grab a bag of chips which I quickly break open, eating handfuls at a time. Have chips always tasted this good?

I move out of the kitchen and start to walk upstairs to look for Puck, Quinn following along silently behind me. I go to his bedroom first and open the door to see if he's inside. My eyes widen a little when I'm greeted with the sight of Puck and Brittany making out heavily on his bed. Her shirt and his pants are on the floor and he has his hand down the front of her shorts. I feel a sudden tug deep inside me that wants to leap forward and yank his hand out of there, before I realize that would be a pretty weird thing to do. Puck turns to look at me when he hears me and grins.

"Hey baby, come to join in?" I raise an eyebrow at him and see his face fall when he sees Quinn come up behind me. He sighs and rolls his eyes, sitting up and reaching for his jeans. He gets up to talk to Quinn and Brittany just lies there with her head tossed back, grinning dreamily. I move to sit on the bed and reach forward to pull up the zipper on her shorts, eyeing her dopey expression. I fasten her button before reaching to the floor to grab her top. She doesn't seem capable of moving much so I help her into it. I stand up and tug her to her feet as well, clasping her hand in mine. I lead us over to the door where Quinn is hissing angry words to Puck about how much of a man-slut he is. He's protesting about how he's a stud and can't help it and I just stand and watch, mildly amused by their argument. Brittany closes her eyes and lays her head on my shoulder. After a moment I feel her start tilting forward dangerously and quickly move to hold her up with a giggle.

It looks like the party's over so I decide it's time for Brittany and me to leave. I move around the bickering pair, tugging her along behind me and slip down the stairs. I go into the living room to grab my bag and notice Puck's left his weed out on the table. I slip it into my pocket with a smirk before we head out the door.

* * *

><p>Later that evening we're back at Brittany's house and feeling back to normal. We're lounging on her bed trying to figure out our impossible history assignment that I'd completely forgotten about until now. I huff and throw down my pen in frustration.<p>

"Ugh, seriously, why do they have to ask us such a _stupid_ question?" I exclaim. I look over to see what Brittany's written and see her notebook adorned with rainbows and drawings of Lord Tubbington. Obviously no use in asking her.

She turns to look at me and shrugs.

"Want to just make out instead?" she suggests casually. I toss my notebook on the floor deciding I can probably make one of the Cheerios do it for me later.

"Yes," I answer, promptly pulling my shirt over my head and moving to straddle her lap as she mirrors my actions. I push her hair back off her face before leaning down to press our lips together. I sigh as her hands slide round my waist and down to my ass. This is so much better than homework. I giggle against her mouth. "You still smell like pot," I remark before kissing her again, feeling her smile on my lips.

I reach around to remove her bra then slide my hands up her bare sides, landing on her breasts and squeezing lightly, brushing her nipples with my thumbs. As I move my hands higher I suddenly remember what happened on the couch earlier and slide my fingers under her arms experimentally. I smile when she lets out a quiet moan of surprise and pushes into my lips, kissing me harder. I massage little circles with the pads of my fingers and she wriggles a little underneath me, reaching up with one hand to clutch the back of my head. I smirk at the effect my actions are having on her, amused at discovering this new kink of hers.

I push her down by her shoulders to lie on her back, kissing her collarbone as I lift her arms up to rest on the pillows behind her head. She seems to sense what's coming and bites her lip, her eyes tightly closed. I take my time moving my kisses over her chest, slowing down when I reach the side of her breast. I press my lips slowly but firmly to the skin there, glancing up to see her expression. Her brow is furrowed and her bottom lip is pulled between her teeth.

"Santana…" she says gently, sounding breathless. I know what she's asking for so I slide my mouth up, my breath tickling her skin teasingly until finally I press my lips to her underarm. I hear her sharp intake of breath and marvel at how sensitive she is to this.

I continue to kiss her skin firmly, slipping my tongue out as well and sucking slightly. She gets more and more worked up until her hips become restless and her breath is coming faster. I detach my mouth and move over to her other armpit, giving it the same treatment and driving her wild.

Eventually I slide back up her body to her face and grin when she flutters her eyes open to look at me.

"That was so hot," she breathes. I lean back down to her lips as I move a hand up, caressing her breast for a moment before sliding it down her stomach. I slip my fingers under her waistband...and suddenly out of nowhere I get a vivid flashback Puck with his hand down her shorts earlier. I pull back and frown slightly, my hand stilling. Something like irritation twinges inside me at the memory and suddenly I have this overwhelming desire to kiss her and touch her better than he ever could. Her eyes have fluttered open and she's looking up at me in confusion.

"Santana? Is something wrong?" I glance at her and shake my head, removing my hand from her shorts.

"Change of plan," I mutter, unbuttoning them and pulling them off her legs swiftly. Her underwear follows and I toss the garments on the floor beside us. I crawl between her legs and push her knees up, settling down between her thighs. I can see that she's unbelievably wet and I make a mental note to remember that armpit thing for the future.

She's leaning on her elbows and straining forward, trying to watch what I'm doing but I place some soft kisses on her inner thigh and she falls back to the pillows with a sigh. I lean forward and press my lips into her hot flesh, pushing her legs further apart with my hands. Her hips move up and down slightly and I can tell she's trying hard to control her movements. One of her hands comes down to tangle in my hair while the other grips her headboard tightly. I hook my arms around her thighs as I press my mouth further into her. I slip my tongue out and flick it all over, licking between her entrance and her clit over and over. She moans and her back arches off the bed a little, pushing her hips slightly into me. I close my eyes, losing myself in her intoxicating scent as she moves against me. I press my lips around her clit and suck softly, enjoying the appreciative noises I receive in return.

After a few moments I slide my lips down, licking at the wetness along the way, until I reach her entrance. She can barely keep still now and I use one arm to grip her thigh more securely while moving to rub at her clit with my other hand. She's so wet and my fingers slip over it easily. I lick her entrance teasingly before burying my face in her skin and pushing my tongue inside her. She gasps and I feel her hips try to jerk into me.

I continue to thrust as far into her as I possibly can while keeping my fingers moving quickly over her clit. It's not too long before she's clutching at my hair desperately, panting heavily. "Oh my god…" she moans, "Santana, I'm gonna come." And then she does; letting out a choked gasp and pushing my head between her legs, urgently seeking more contact. I feel her clench over and over around my tongue and press into her as firmly as I can, my fingers rubbing furiously. Her hips jerk frantically against me as I help her ride it out.

Finally she stops moving with one last high pitched moan and her body goes limp. I continue to slowly lick at the wetness left between her legs for a few moments before lifting my head and sitting up. I breathe in air deeply, having had my face buried between her thighs for the past few minutes. I wipe my mouth with a smirk as I watch her breathing heavily with her eyes shut, completely immobilized.

I reach over and grab my shirt, pulling it back on before swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. I stand and move to grab my bag and put my shoes on while she's still gathering herself.

After a moment she opens her eyes and turns on her side to watch me, leaning her head on her hand. I shove my forgotten notebook back into my bag as I turn to face her.

"I really liked that," she says, her eyes sparkling as she gives me a smile. I return it as I take one last look at her body. "It was super hot." Yeah, I think with a smirk as I lift my bag over my shoulder and walk to the door. Definitely better than anything _Puck_ could do.


	20. Chapter 20

"Santana, what's a Glist?"

I pause in my application of lip gloss, glancing at Brittany in the mirror. She's standing by the door to the girl's bathroom, examining a piece of paper taped to the door. I frown.

"A _what?_" I ask, going back to fixing my make-up.

"It says so on this piece of paper. It has our names on it." I pause again, turning around this time and walking to stand beside her. I peer at the sheet of paper, which sure enough has the caption "Glist." Underneath it reads "Who's Hot – Who's Not!" followed by a list of names. I glance at it and immediately see Quinn's name at number one, followed by my own at number two. I yank the paper off the door sharply, narrowing my eyes as I look at it more closely. There's a number after each person's name and by the looks of it, it's all Glee club members.

"What the hell? Why is _Quinn_ number one on this thing?" I stare at the first two names in disbelief. If this really is a list of who's hot and who's not then I should be number one without question. What's so special about _her?_

After a moment I notice Brittany trying to take the paper from me and I realize I'm gripping it tightly with both hands. I release it and she looks down at it in confusion.

"Wait so…I'm only number four?" She frowns. "Shouldn't I be higher?"

"We _both_ should be," I spit angrily as I grab the Glist and crumple it in my fist. I yank open the bathroom door and march out, ready to prove whoever made the damn thing wrong.

It turns out the Glist has been posted all over the school and everyone at McKinley has seen it. Apparently the order is determined by the sexual promiscuity of each individual and there's to be a new list posted each week, showing the latest rankings. Nobody knows who is responsible for the lists, but people seem to think they're definitely coming from within the Glee club. Personally I think it's pretty obvious that it's Puck. I mean, he's demonstrated his tendency to pick Quinn over me in the past and I don't think any of the other idiots in that club would be stupid enough to think that she is hotter than me.

Once Mr. Schue gets wind of the Glists he's furious and demands to know who's behind them. Apparently if no one owns up Principal Figgins is going to disband the Glee club. Puck denies it when we accuse him, presumably because he just doesn't want to be punished. Which is ridiculous. I mean, it's not like he's not been suspended before.

There's Cheerios practice after school the next day and it's a particularly hellish session. Coach Sylvester's been in a foul mood ever since somebody uploaded her private video to YouTube and she seems to be inexplicably blaming it on me. Even after all the others have gone inside she makes me do endless amounts of sit ups and run laps until I throw up. For some reason Brittany doesn't show up and I can't help but feel some resentment towards her for getting out of enduring the torture. Once I'm done I have a long shower before heading to hers to see what's up. Her mom answers the door and directs me up to her room where I find her tucked up in bed looking pale.

"Are you sick, Britt-Britt?" I ask, perching on the edge of the bed. "Is that why you ditched me by myself at practice?" She nods with an apologetic smile.

"My mom took me to the doctor. He gave me all these antibiotics and said I just had a bad cold. I feel gross though." I nod sympathetically.

"It's probably because of Coach forcing us to practice in the pouring rain for hours the other day," I say with a roll of my eyes. "Do you want me to bring you some soup?" She smiles.

"Yeah, totally." I go back downstairs and get some chicken soup that her mom makes for me. I bring it back to her room and set it down in front of her on a tray. While she gets started on it I reach down and scoop up Lord Tubbington who is lurking on the floor. I walk to the door and dump him in the hallway before closing the door and moving round to the other side of her bed. I pull back the comforter and slide in beside her, grabbing the remote from her nightstand.

"Won't you get sick too?" she asks, regarding me curiously. I wave my hand dismissively, flicking through channels on the TV.

"If I'm gonna get it I'll have it already. And besides I have a kick-ass immune system. I hardly ever get sick." She seems reassured by this and goes back to her soup.

Once she's finished I stand up and move around the bed to take her plate away. I come back with a glass of orange juice and tell her to drink up.

"Thanks, Santana," she says as she takes it from me. "You don't have to stay here, you know." I grin and kneel down beside the bed.

"It's okay, Britt. I kind of like taking care of you. Reminds me of being back at the hospital…just without the sexy uniform." She giggles as I reach a hand over to her forehead, brushing her hair out the way.

"You should totally put it on."

I smile as I press my palm to her skin to feel her temperature. "Wow, you're really warm," I remark, removing my hand and standing up. "Wait here," I say, as if she's planning on going somewhere. I go to the bathroom and find a small washcloth, running it under the cold tap for a few moments.

I take it back through and sit beside her on the bed, crossing my legs. "Lean back," I instruct, and she obliges, moving her body further down and lying back. I lean forward and push her hair off her face so it fans out all over the pillow behind her head. She eyes the washcloth in my hands as I fold it over and move to place it on her forehead, pressing down lightly. She smiles a little and closes her eyes.

"That's nice," she murmurs.

"Mhmm." I smile faintly as I watch her relax.

After a minute I take it away and turn it over so the colder side is against her skin. I notice her breathing has grown slower and I grab the remote to turn off the TV.

"You should get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning," I say quietly, leaning over her body to turn off the lamp on the nightstand.

"Mmm…" Taking this muffled response as an agreement I lean back, keeping my hand pressed against the washcloth. I sit there for a long time in the dark silence, the only sound the faint scratching of Lord Tubbington at the door. I study her face as she drifts off to sleep. Her lips are parted slightly and her eyelids flutter a little every now and then. I feel a smile tug at my mouth as I watch her and my hand shifts slightly to gently touch her cheek. I'm vaguely aware of a tightening in my chest and my heart seems to be beating harder against my ribs. It's a strange feeling and it aches a little as it grows, but it's not entirely unpleasant. It's a moment or two before I recognize it and my fingers halt as they run over the curve of her jaw. I swallow hard and push the feeling down forcefully, tearing my hand and eyes off her face. I stare at my dark lap for a few seconds, terrified that if I look back at her it'll come back.

Slowly my heart rate returns to normal and I wonder if I imagined the whole thing. I glance back at her and peel the now warm washcloth from her skin, tossing it onto the nightstand, before turning away and standing up. I move quickly around the room, gathering my things and putting my shoes on. Hitching my cheer bag over my shoulder, I leave the room without glancing back and I hurry out of the house, ignoring her mom when she calls out.

* * *

><p>Brittany's not in school the next day so I sit beside Puck in Glee club. I'm determined to fight my way to the top of the Glist in time for the next one and I'm starting with him. Quinn glares at me from across the room and I smirk as I murmur into his ear seductively. I lean closer and tell him to meet me under the bleachers during third period, eliciting a sleazy grin from him.<p>

I make sure to be extra rough with him because I know he finds it hot and after we're done he's grinning like an idiot. I march back into the school in search of my next victim. I find Jacob Ben Israel and tell him to come to the janitor's closet on the second floor in ten minutes. He nods, wide-eyed, as if unable to believe what he's hearing. Then I go and drag Matt in there and kiss him against the wall, waiting for Jew-fro to come by and find us making out. If there's anyone I can trust to spread gossip it's that little nerd. If this Glist is based on sexual promiscuity I'll have racked up enough points to kick Quinn Fabray's ass by lunchtime.

By the next day I've added two more football players to my already long list of sexual partners, as well as going for another round with Puck in a late night visit to his house. Needless to say I'm feeling pretty confident about my chances for next week. I'm smirking as I march up to my locker, giving a flirty wink to a guy staring at my ass. Brittany is standing at her own locker, staring at the door.

"Welcome back, Britt-Britt. Feeling better?" When she doesn't respond after a few seconds I lean back to look at her around my locker door. I find that she hasn't moved from her position and is just staring blankly straight ahead. "Britt? What's wrong with you? You look, like…high or something."

"I'm not sure…but I'm finding it really hard to move right now." she says slowly. There's a long pause, then she frowns a little. "I guess it started after I took my antibiotics this morning…" she says finally. I look at her in alarm.

"How much did you take?" I ask. She shrugs slightly.

"Just what the doctor gave me."

"All of it?" My eyes widen as I close my locker door to look at her. Before she can answer we're interrupted by an annoying midget.

"Brittany, Santana; I need a favor," Rachel states matter-of-factly as she comes to a stop beside us, hands on hips. I turn to glare down at her, arms folded over my chest. "I need a pair of angels," she says, looking at us expectantly. I pause, wondering if I heard correctly, too confused to snap at her.

"Am I an angel?" Brittany wonders aloud. I frown.

"You need a pair of _what_?"

"Angels," Berry repeats with a nod. "It's for my Glee club assignment. This week I will be submitting a multi-media project which I believe ties in perfectly with this week's theme. It's going to be _epic_. And…" she hesitates for a moment. "I must confess my extreme dissatisfaction at being placed _last_ on the Glist. I was hoping to utilize this production to show this school that Rachel Berry is what's hot at McKinley." I can't help but laugh at this. The girl's got about as much sex appeal as a sack of potatoes. I think about her proposal.

"So, wait…if we agree to be in your little movie, does that mean we don't have to do the assignment?" She thinks this over with a frown.

"Well…I suppose so. Although, I really don't know why you're so reluctant to participate more in Glee club projects, Santana. It can be really very rewarding if you just apply yourself a little and I'm sure that if you-"

"Ugh, just stop talking, Berry," I interrupt, closing my eyes in an attempt to stop myself from smacking her. "We'll be in your damn movie." Her face lights up and she beams at us. "But it better be good," I snap, before she can express her excitement vocally. "I'm not gonna embarrass myself in some half-assed production that's filmed in your bedroom." She nods in agreement.

"Absolutely not," she says, her expression serious. "The entire thing will be _very_ professional." I nod and grab Brittany's arm, ready for this conversation to be over. As I tug her away Berry calls after us. "Rehearsals are tomorrow morning at eight am sharp! Meet in the choir room!"

And so, the next morning after Cheerio's practice Brittany and I find ourselves standing in the hallway dressed as angels, wings and all. I run my hands over the feathers, wondering if Berry made these costumes herself. I wouldn't be surprised, given her obsessive dedication to anything related to the Glee club.

Turns out she only wants us in the damn thing for about ten seconds and it takes about fifteen minutes to get ready, film and get dressed again. She thanks us and hands us a couple of homemade friendship bracelets as thanks. I stare at mine in alarm as she hands them to us, too stunned to comment. She beams and walks away and I slap Brittany's hand when she tries to slip her own bracelet on.

She told us the film would be showing in Glee club in a few days and I'm kind of curious to see it. Britt and I did a pretty awesome job at being angels if you ask me. Plus all that mist that the AV club made was a nice touch.

"Well, that's that over with," I say to Brittany as we walk to our lockers before class. "Want to ditch at lunchtime today? I have a chemistry test later that I could so do without." She shakes her head.

"I can't," she says. "I'm getting my Glee on in the library with Kurt, Tina, Mercedes and a robot." I look blankly at her.

"Am I supposed to know what that means?" She shrugs.

"We're performing. They want to get a bad enough reputation to get on the next Glist, and I just wanna be higher." I don't say anything for a moment, wondering how anyone could possibly think that plan will work. Mine is way better.

"Right," I say finally. "Have fun doing that…"

* * *

><p>A few days pass and then it's finally time to see what Berry's come up with. Turns out we're not the only people she asked to help her out; because suddenly Puck appears on screen, playing her <em>lover<em>. Gross. And then, confusingly, Jesse and Finn both make an appearance as the same character. The movie finishes up with a nice shot of me and Britt and I clap happily, pleased with our performance. The three guys aren't so impressed though and Finn and Jesse lose it, storming out of the choir room.

The next day is supposed to be the day of the release of the latest Glist but to my frustration when I arrive at school there aren't any to be found. I can't believe I've been working hard all week for nothing. Obviously whoever made the first one was intimidated by Mr. Schue's interrogation sessions the other day. He called me into his office to question me over the lists and I denied it fervently, asking him why the hell I would rate Tubbers Fabray over myself. He let me go as soon as I started going into specific details of my efforts to outrank her.


End file.
